Volkswagen is changing this Greek island's travel system to electric

Volkswagen has started an electric mobility service on the Greek island of Astypalea. The ridesharing services will be known as Astybus and the vehicle sharing service called AstyGo started its operation in presence of Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Volkswagen stated both the mobility services will operate with fully electric vehicles. The island is aiming to switch to smart and complete sustainable mobility by 2026.

Initially, the Astybus ridesharing service will start operation with five models of the Volkswagen ID. Buzz after the electric vehicle is launched later this year. Until then, the service will be carried out with the Volkswagen ID.4 EV. With the help of the vehicle sharing service AstyGo, customers can rent electric cars from Volkswagen along with electric scooters from SEAT MO and e-bikes from Ducati. All these electric vehicles can be booked via smartphone and the integrated astyMOVE app, mentioned Volkswagen.

The citizens of the Greek island Astypalea, according to preliminary results from a first survey, are interested in electric vehicles and smart mobility services. More than 65 per cent of the respondents shared they are willing to switch to an electric vehicle if there are purchase grants. Kostas Frangogiannis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Economic Diplomacy and Openness said, “I am very proud of what we have achieved so far, for the citizens of Astypalea and for the whole country, especially at a time when the need to diversify and move away from traditional energy sources has become even more urgent, globally."

The CEO of the Volkswagen Group Herbert Diess said Europe is rapidly moving away from fossil fuels to renewables. “Volkswagen is a driver of change, leading the transformation to e-mobility in Europe. Here on Astypalea, we are introducing new mobility services as the next step towards the future of transportation. It’s exciting to see the project grow, with people willing to change their habits. It demonstrates that a rapid transformation to green mobility and green energy is feasible if businesses and governments work hand in hand."