GM’s Maven Expands Partnerships As It Explores The On-Demand Mobility Business

General Motors’ Maven carsharing and rental unit is expanding its partnerships in ride and delivery services as the company considers whether to enter the on-demand mobility business currently dominated by Uber and Lyft.

Reuters reported news that while both companies’ drivers are leasing thousands of GM vehicles, Maven has already begun to pull away from Lyft with its own Gig leasing business. Through Gig, Maven can provide GM vehicles directly to ridesharing drivers who previously leased them through Lyft Express Drive and Uber Vehicle Solutions.

In addition, Maven has been assembling knowledge and expertise that could enable GM to eventually offer on-demand mobility services to a new generation of consumers who buy access to transportation by the hour.

GM has also been testing a variety of on-demand services through Maven, from peer-to-peer carsharing to fractional ownership. Asked if GM aims to create its own ride and delivery service, Maven’s Julia Steyn said, “You’re on the right track. We are building this out step by step.”

Maven focused initially on carsharing at its launch in early 2016, then quickly added third-party leasing services through Uber and Lyft. Now it has partnered with on-demand delivery services GrubHub (meals), Instacart (groceries) and Roadie (packages), as well as HopSkipDrive, an on-demand rideshare service aimed at children of working parents.

While Maven is still relatively small compared to Uber, it has flourished in the past 18 months. Its fleet of nearly 10,000 vehicles has accumulated 170 million miles and provided 17.5 million rides to Lyft and Uber customers. And Maven executives said they expect to bolster the Gig fleet next year with the addition of 2,000-3,000 Chevrolet Bolt EVs, as more cities outside California add charging stations.