The global Maven team includes more than 40 dedicated employees from the connected car technology industry as well as ride- and car-sharing professionals from Google, Zipcar and Sidecar.

The launch of the Maven service follows the recent news that the carmaker is investing $500m (€46.5m) in US ridesharing firm Lyft as well as purchasing ride-hailing company Sidecar.

“GM is at the forefront of redefining the future of personal mobility,” said GM president Dan Ammann. “With the launch of our car-sharing service through Maven, the strategic alliance with ride-sharing company Lyft, and building on our decades of leadership in vehicle connectivity through OnStar, we are uniquely positioned to provide the high level of personalized mobility services our customers expect today and in the future.”

The Maven service will debut in Ann Arbor in Michigan and will also launch in major US metropolitan areas later this year.

The service enable customers to search for and reserve a vehicle by location or car type using the accompanying app and unlock the vehicle with their smartphone. The app also enables remote functions such as starting, heating or cooling and more.

GM also promises simple and transparent pricing includes insurance and fuel.

“Maven provides on-demand access, choice and ease of use. The right vehicle and right mobility service for the right trip at the right time,” said Julia Steyn, GM vice president, Urban Mobility Programs. “With more than 25 million customers around the world projected to use some form of shared mobility by 2020, Maven is a key element of our strategy to changing ownership models in the automotive industry.”