By Nathan Allen 
 

Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE) said Wednesday it will launch an electric car-share service in 2019, following similar announcements from French auto makers Renault SA (RNO.FR) and Peugeot SA (UG.FR).

Volkswagen said it plans to initially offer the service in Germany before rolling it out across cities in Europe, North America and Asia from 2020.

"Our vehicle-on-demand fleets will consist entirely of electric cars, and will therefore provide zero-emission, sustainable mobility," said Volkswagen Brand Board Member for Sales Juergen Stackmann.

Car makers are increasingly looking to gain a foothold in the ride-hailing and car-sharing markets in an effort to offset the declining popularity of car ownership among young people.

Earlier this week, Renault and Peugeot both announced the imminent launch of similar programs in Paris as they look to fill the void left after city authorities said they would shut down the Autolib car-share service.

Write to Nathan Allen at nathan.allen@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 04, 2018 07:48 ET (11:48 GMT)