Volkswagen Just Bought a Corporate Travel Startup – Here’s Why
Photo Credit: The Volkswagen factory in Zwickau, Germany, which exclusively produces fully electric vehicles. Volkswagen
Skift Take
This car manufacturer’s entry into corporate travel management is a sign the "total mobility" concept is maturing. But legacy agencies shouldn’t worry too much — for now.
Car maker Volkswagen has shifted into a new gear following its acquisition of corporate travel platform Voya.
Volkswagen Financial Services, a division of Volkswagen, purchased Voya from Czech private equity firm Rockaway Capital on June 18 for an undisclosed sum.
Voya is a digital travel assistant with a focus on chat, as it lets business travelers plan and book their trip via messaging. Its target audience is small and medium-sized businesses with an average annual travel spend of $1 million.
The platform, which was founded in 2015 by Florian Stege, Maximilian Lober, and Pepijn Schoen, can also be white-labeled to other players in the travel and mobility industry.
Volkswagen has its eyes on the travel management sector because it also happens to operate one of the world’s largest fleet management companies, with a presence in 48 countries.
As well as leasing cars to companies, its financial services arm offers customer financing, direct banking, insurance activities
