Volkswagen Invests $300 Million in Israeli Taxi Hailing App Gett
Uber might be the most famous and most valuable taxi hailing app in the world but over the years, plenty of other similar start ups have sprung up in different countries and are attracting investor interest. In a recent development that would come as a surprise for many, German car making giant Volkswagen have decided to invest a whopping $300 million in Uber's rival Gett, an Israeli taxi hailing app and needless to say, it opens up a new frontier for the company that depends on car sales in order to boos its revenues. Volkswages is still reeling over the disaster that was the emissions controversy and has had to recall plenty of cars from stores all over the world, which is why it is not a surprise that the company is now looking at other avenues to increase its revenues and considering the fact that car sales are going down on a global level due to car hailing apps, it could turn out to be a very shrewd move on the part of the company to join hands with a competitor.
In fact, the CEO of Gett, Shahar Waiser spoke to the publication Business Insider over the telephone regarding the present deal and although he decided not to reveal the current valuation of the company, he did say that Volkswagen are currently trying to move away from the car ownership model and that could be due to the preponderance of taxi hailing apps all over the world, that have affected car sales.
The company was established in 2010 and over the past six years it has attracked investments equal to $220 million from venture capitalists. Although the company has not been able to turn a profit as yet, the annual revenues of $500 million is certainly something that has made the company an attractive investment opportunity for Volkswagen. The fresh injection of capital will help the company in expanding to new markets. It is already available in 60 cities across the world and is also present in New York.
