Volvo Car Mobility launches mobility brand M

Volvo Cars, one of the most well-known vehicle brands in the world has launched a new brand called M which is meant to expand the company’s global mobility operations. M will specialize in providing dependable, on-demand access to cars and services through the use of an intuitive app and a proprietary technology platform for metro and urban consumers. Volvo will debut the brand in the United States and Sweden in the spring of 2019. M also has a stated goal of personalizing the customer relationship by learning more about the needs, preferences and habits of customers.

Speaking about the launch of the new brand, Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo Cars president and chief executive said that Volvo Cars is evolving into something that is more than just a car company as the company recognizes that that urban consumers are rethinking traditional car ownership. M is part of Volvo’s answer to this shift in the perception of customers as Volvo works on transforming itself into a direct-to-consumer services provider under its new mission ‘Freedom to Move’.

M is working on the development of proprietary learning technology that will draw information from users about their specific needs and act on this information instead of just informing them as to where they can pick up a car.

Bodil Eriksson, CEO of Volvo Car Mobility said that while the services that are currently available mainly function as alternatives to a taxi or public transportation, Volvo will focus on the way people use the cars they own. This will differentiate M from other companies in this segment as the goal is to provide a real alternative to owning a car so that customers can live life on their terms, thus getting things done and maximizing their precious time. He concluded by saying that Volvo saw this as an opportunity to offer a premium experience.

M will have a team of experienced and sought-after digital software engineers and leading talent and will also leverage the 20 years of learnings and data from Sunfleet, Volvo Car Group’s car-sharing pioneer. Sunfleet is the topper in the car sharing segment in Sweden with a fleet of 1,700 cars and as many as 500,000 annual transactions. Sunfleet will be fully integrated into M in 2019, thus making the service available to all existing Sunfleet members.

“Mobility is undergoing a fundamental transformation and Volvo Cars is leading that change. The launch of M creates new sources of revenue for Volvo Cars and will be integral to the company’s ambition to build more than 5 million direct consumer relationships by the middle of the next decade,” said Samuelsson.

M will have Stockholm in Sweden as its base for development. The company is already conducting extensive trials in Stockholm and is planning a broader Beta test in the autumn of this year.