Because in today’s world, M is for Mobility, not Motorsports. Duh.
Swedish carmaker Volvo has launched a new brand under its umbrella, to promote mobility and provide on-demand access to its range of cars and various other services through a smartphone app. Dubbed M, this newly-minted brand aims to offer an alternative to conventional car ownership, where instead of buying a car, you only have to subscribe to it.
Volvo says that with the launch of M, the company can expand their global mobility operations and get a better understanding of the needs, preferences, and habits of its users. With the data collected, M can form a more personalised, more understanding relationship with individual customers. A proprietary learning technology is being developed by M that will request (and try to fulfil) individual users’ needs rather than simply give them a location pin to where they can collect their car.
“The services currently available mainly offer alternatives to a taxi, or pubic transit. We’re focused on the way people use the cars they own, which sets us apart. We aim to provide a real alternative to that experience. It should enable us to live life on our terms, getting things done, and maximising precious time. We see the opportunity to offer a premium service.” — Bodil Eriksson, CEO, Volvo Car Mobility
The former head of Volvo USA’s marketing & communications, Bodil Eriksson, will be called up to head the new company. M will join Care by Volvo as the Swedish marque’s entries to address the changing car ownership & user landscape, and is in line with the brand’s intent to have some 20% of its sales to come from subscriptions to M and Care by Volvo by 2022, before hitting the 50% mark in 2025.
M may be a new brand, but it’s backed by two decades of experience from Sunfleet, which is Volvo’s local car-sharing company in Sweden. With some 1,700 vehicles and 500,000 annual transactions, Sunfleet will be absorbed into M by 2019, with all existing Sunfleet members transitioning to the new platform in due course.
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