GM and Shanghai Jiao Tong University begin vehicle sharing pilot program

General Motors and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) have begun a two-year vehicle sharing pilot program in Shanghai featuring 16 Chevrolet EN-V 2.0 electric concept vehicles. 

The EN-V 2.0 pilot vehicles will be integrated into the multi-modal transportation system at SJTU’s Minhang campus alongside bicycles, cars and shuttle buses. They will help meet users’ ‘first mile, last mile’ transportation needs.

“This program will allow us to better understand how people could use an urban mobility vehicle such as EN-V 2.0 in a real-world setting and in a vehicle-sharing arrangement,” said GM executive vice-president and president of GM China Matt Tsien. “It represents an important step toward transforming GM’s vision for sustainable urban mobility into reality.”

Eligible drivers selected from among qualified faculty members and graduate students at SJTU will prepay a set membership fee to offset the cost of using the EN-V 2.0s. This will support a simple and seamless locating, renting and driving experience.

GM engineers and SJTU staff and students will work together to collect and analyze data from the vehicles’ operation and users’ input, and share learnings on usage patterns and vehicle requirements.

“SJTU attaches great importance to our cooperation with GM,” said SJTU Vice President Dan Wu. “Sharing vehicle data will support research at SJTU in related disciplines while promoting improvements in GM’s technology. Intelligent transportation, autonomous vehicles and electrification represent the key areas of our cooperation and the future as well.”

The EN-V 2.0 is the second generation of the Electric Networked-Vehicle demonstrated at Expo 2010 in Shanghai. The vehicle works by combining electric drive with easy-swipe card access for entry, fees and starting; cameras for a rear view; and GPS, OnStar and tablet-based smartphone technologies.

The two-seat EN-V 2.0 has an electric range of approximately 40km and a top speed of 30kph