Giving Volkswagen's carsharing a product vision.

Volkswagen’s mobility service "WeShare" had to launch at maximum speed. Design stepped in early, turning uncertainty into direction and giving a fast-moving product something rare: a shared product vision.

client

WeShare was Volkswagen’s own carsharing service based on the free-floating rental modal. In 2019 it launched with 1,500 all-electric vehicles and was sold in 2022 to Miles.

services

Product Vision
Design Direction
App UI
Design System
Stakeholder Alignment

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industry

Mobility

"Our goal is to hit the market with maximum force. We want to scale quickly and expand the offering at speed."

Philipp Reth, CEO WeShare in an interview with Business Insider Germany in 2018

The Challenge

WeShare needed to enter a carsharing market already shaped by established players like Share Now and Car2Go. As Volkswagen’s first fully electric mobility service, it carried high expectations.

However, the product was already moving, but the brand didn’t exist. Amid a global VW rebrand the team had to launch fast: without a clear identity, direction, or alignment.

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Our Solution

This challenge wasn’t about designing screens. It was about creating clarity and a sense of purpose.

The team needed something to unite around: a vision for how the product should look, feel, and behave long before anyone would see a finished brand.

Together with the internal UX team, we built a fast but deep process: workshops, moodboards, prototypes and a vision sprint "hidden" inside the product development swimlanes.

Building a Shared Vision

We created a visual language that gave WeShare an identity before it officially had one. In our focus: color, tone, rhythm, emotion. Something real for the team to hold onto. A simple Design System provided UX and UI with just enough components to move fast, stay aligned, and build momentum together.

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Designing Beyond Function

The interface wasn’t just functional; it conveyed a vision. It gave a first glimpse of how an electric mobility brand could feel: confident, intuitive, human.

Bridging the Silos

We worked across teams – developers, marketers, Volkswagen’s global branding unit, and an external agency. Our mission: to align everything around the narrative of "launch fast, but don’t lose meaning".

The Impact

The app launched successfully and grew into one of Germany’s first all-electric carsharing services. Years later, WeShare was acquired by MILES Mobility — for us, proof that the product had a strong foundation and a clear identity.

More importantly, it gave the internal team a sense of ownership. Design didn’t follow the brand. It created it.

With special thanks to:
Anna Schapovnik (Client Team)
Jeremy Abbott (Organizational Design)
Volkswagen Product Design Team