Ridecell Inc., the leading global carsharing and ridesharing platform provider, announces at TU-Automotive Detroit, its mobility platform will power a new carsharing program by ŠKODA Poland (part of Volkswagen Group Poland – VGP). Skoda Auto Mlada Boleslav (Part of VW AG) in the Czech Republic will drive the program, under the brand name Omni. Pol-Mot Auto, a Skoda dealership in Poland, will operate the service locally.

“With carsharing continuing to gain momentum as a means of convenient and affordable transportation, the Volkswagen Group Poland is looking to meet this demand with innovative mobility as a service offerings,” said Piotr Maj, ŠKODA Digitalization Manager of Volkswagen Group Poland. “With the Omni program, we were able to quickly go to market with a new Skoda-based carsharing service by using the Ridecell new mobility platform.”

The Omni service allows consumers to pick up and drop off Skoda vehicles at parking stations throughout the Warsaw metropolitan area. In addition, consumers can easily sign up for the Omni service with a simple app-based registration process that takes just minutes and then use the Omni app to instantly access all available vehicles in the service. Ridecell developed the Omni-branded application and powers the back-end operations of the service.

“We believe the Omni service will offer unmatched convenience for drivers who are looking for short term car usage and avoiding long waits at inconvenient car rental locations,” said Piotr Boguszewski of Pol-Mot Auto. “We’re excited to leverage our strengths as a car dealership for this new mobility offering, including our deep expertise in fleet management and vehicle maintenance.”

The Omni service will take full advantage of the Ridecell platform including end-to-end automation, instant driver verification, payment processing, demand/supply balancing and custom analytics. The Omni-branded app and all operational features are fully localized in Polish.

“At Ridecell, we’re excited to help the Volkswagen Group Poland define this new offering and introduce it to the market quickly. We believe the Omni program represents a smart transition from a traditional dealer business to a scalable service model,” said Aarjav Trivedi, founder and CEO of Ridecell. “With the Ridecell platform, automakers can leverage their established dealer networks to expand offerings, operate efficiently, grow revenues, and increase their value to today’s consumers. This introduction in Poland is a perfect indicator of what lies ahead in the smart automotive industry.”

• Ridecell powers new carsharing service by Volkswagen Group in Poland