GENERAL Motors, fresh from closing Holden and selling its factories in Thailand, has announced the end of its lauded Maven car-share business that had expanded to three markets and became the world’s biggest manufacturer-owned business of its type.

Maven was closed in Australia as part of the withdrawal of Holden from this market but the closure of Maven now covers all markets.

Started in 2016, Maven was designed as a car-share service for GM vehicles.

It rented cars by the hour through an app, targeted city residents in New York and Chicago, and provided cars for drivers contracted to ride-share businesses such as Uber.

It also developed a smartphone app for customers to find and open a Maven car.

It opened in Australia in September 2017 and challenged rivals such as GoGet by making its vehicles available direct from the manufacturer and placed at a convenient Holden dealership.

Maven’s demise is being blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic but the business had been winding down as early as May last year when it closed operations in eight of its 17 US city branches.

The pandemic triggered the end of Maven as primary customers – ride-share operators – were hit hard by plummeting business as customers retreated from the shared environment. This collapse transferred to Maven’s operations.

During its four-year life, Maven’s innovative approach to mobility included launching Maven Reserve in Los Angeles and San Francisco in 2017 that allowed customers to rent its GM-branded vehicles for a month at a time. It also set up Maven Gig that tapped into growing demand from ride-share and delivery app drivers.

Maven then launched a service in 2018 in Chicago, Detroit and Ann Arbor that let owners rent out their personal GM-branded vehicles through its Maven car-sharing platform.

Maven followed up its presence in the US and Canada with operations in Australia. This had up to 2000 of its Holden cars in the field with renters, mainly ride-share operators, until it closed in February this year.

GM vice-president Pamela Fletcher said in a statement: “We’ve gained extremely valuable insights from operating our own car-sharing business.

“Our learnings and developments from Maven will go on to benefit and accelerate the growth of other areas of GM business,” she said.

Maven will wind down and close in August. GM said Maven’s “assets and resources will be transferred to GM’s Global Innovation organisation, as well as the larger enterprise”.

By Neil Dowling