Volvo is all set to launch launching a full-fledged mobility service ‘M’ to compete with Volkswagen’s Moia. M is likely to be app-based and will be launched in Sweden and the United States by 2019.

United States: Volvo has recently declared its plans of launching a full-fledged mobility service ‘M’ that will compete with Volkswagen’s Moia. The automotive giant will launch the mobility brand in Sweden and the US by 2019. The M mobility brand is aiming to reboot car ownership by using technology to collect details from users to customize their service.

M is likely to be app-based, and Volvo's proposition for the service will be learning the user's needs, preferences and habits, to personalize the customer relationship. Volvo has been owning a car-sharing service called Sunfleet in Sweden from 1998 which comprises of 50,000 users of 1,700 available vehicles and have generated 500,000 transactions per year. The data from that operation is likely to serve as the basis for M's learning technology which enhances personalization and questions the customers about their specific needs rather than informing them of where a car can be picked up from. According to the CEO of Volvo Car Mobility, the basic aim is enabling M users to enjoy a car-sharing service that is similar resembles owning their own car.

M will be app-based, and despite any word on which cars will be available on the scheme, it is anticipated to gradually include the entire Volvo range. Sunfleet will be rolled into the M mobility scheme, using the knowledge from its Swedish operations to grow the new brand.

According to the Automaker, private car ownership will not vanish, but it may reduce or change. The company has already proven the profitable concept in its home market that it intends to leverage as Volvo develops a global concept.

Bodil Eriksson, the former vice president of product, marketing and communications at Volvo USA, is likely to head M. Volvo has been hinting that M and Care By Volvo might not be the only mobility strategies away from traditional car ownership methods, by commenting that a huge variety of on-demand mobility solutions are in the pipeline.

M is the latest step by Volvo from car ownership. With the Volvo XC40, Volvo launched its Care By Volvo service, which enables drivers to subscribe to cars rather than owning them completely, including maintenance, insurance and other car-related costs rolled into one monthly payment. The brand is aiming for 20 percent of its sales to be subscription-based by 2022 and 50 percent by 2025.

Volkswagen has launched its mobility brand-Moia, while an increasing number of rival manufacturers are launching subscription services. Unlike Moia, M will not take a driverless focus, rather it is trying to emerge as an alternative to buying a car. Most recently, Jaguar Land Rover launched its Carpe subscription scheme.

According to TechSci Research, M launched by Volvo is set to transform the mobility-on-demand market by allowing the customers to select cars based on their preference with the ease of a click. Moreover, Care By Volvo service, will enable customers or drivers to subscribe to cars rather than owning them completely which will further add to the popularity of the app. The mobility-on demand market is expected to witness robust growth in the coming years as a result of increasing demand for alternate transportation means to curb the air pollution levels across the globe as well as to provide better transportation services through a reliable and fast mobile platform. The introduction of ‘M’ is also expected to have a positive impact on Mobile Application Testing Market in the coming years.

According to the recently published report by TechSci Research, “Global Mobility on Demand Market Forecast & Opportunities, 2022”, Global mobility on demand market is expected to cross $ 228 billion by 2022, on account of growing traffic congestions, continuous initiatives being taken by several vehicles manufacturing players and increasing inclination of consumers. Asia-Pacific region accounted for the largest share in global mobility on demand market in 2016; and China and Japan registered more than half of the demand for mobility on demand services in the region in the same year. Moreover, the region is anticipated to maintain its dominance in global mobility on demand market during the forecast period as well.

According to the recently published report by TechSci Research, “United States Mobile Application Testing Services Market, By Architecture (Native, Hybrid, & Web-based), By Type (Manual Vs. Automation), By Operating System (Android, iOS, etc.), By Device, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2012-2022”, United States mobile application testing (MAT) services market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 11% by 2022, on the back of increasing number of smartphone and internet users across the country. Moreover, growing culture of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Bring Your Own Application (BYOA), rising adoption of DevOps and SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytic and Cloud) ecosystem, and increasing use of mobile applications across diverse sectors including financial and retail, are some of the factors anticipated to boost the demand for MAT services in the US during the forecast period. Owing to growing demand for security and reliability of mobile applications, which deal with customers’ personal and financial data, the MAT services market in the US is expected to witness an upward growth trend over next five years.

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