FAW-Volkswagen sets up wholly-owned subsidiary for mobility service

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- FAW-Volkswagen (FAW-VW), a passenger car joint venture between FAW Group and Volkswagen AG, has built an independent subsidiary to operate its mobility service brand Mobje Mobility.

Dubbed Mobje Smart Mobility Co.,Ltd., the new company was founded on June 29, 2021, according to the business information provider Tianyancha. It involves a registered capital of 400 million yuan ($61.82 million) and is wholly held by FAW-VW. Its line of business covers car leasing, hourly car rental, and ride-hailing services.

Mobje Mobility's logo; photo credit: Mobje

FAW-VW made its foray into mobility service in April 2018 by launching its car-sharing service brand Mobje Mobility, under which a trial operation kicked off in Changchun, Jilin province. In March 2019, the carmaker deployed over one thousand cars to offer mobility services to local users in Changchun. The service was launched in Chengdu, Sichuan province afterwards.

Some industry insiders said the joint venture set up the mobility service subsidiary in order to find a new growth driver for car sales.

In 2018, FAW-VW delivered over 2.05 million new cars, achieving a 2.6% year-on-year growth, versus the first-time decrease hitting China's passenger vehicle (PV) market since 1990. The company saw its annual deliveries in 2019 climb 3.8% to nearly 2.13 million units. With around 2.16 million cars delivered, FAW-VW posted a 1.5% growth year-on-year in 2020. Notably, the joint venture was the only PV manufacturer in China to exceed 2 million-unit volume in both annual sales and outputs last year.

Traditional automakers like Geely Auto, SAIC Motor, Great Wall Motor, BMW, and Dongfeng all launched their mobility service platforms, indicating their ambition to be a mobility service provider in addition to a pure carmaker.