General Motors Co.'s car-sharing service Maven will pull out of eight of the 17 North American cities to focus on markets with the strongest demand, The Wall Street Journal reported May 20, citing a company spokeswoman.

Maven reportedly plans to exit Chicago and Boston within the next few months but will continue operating in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Detroit, Toronto and other cities.

Citing an email sent to a Maven customer in Chicago, the Journal said the service would shut down in the city by July 26.

"We're shifting Maven's offerings to concentrate on markets in which we have the strongest current demand and growth potential," General Motors reportedly said.

Maven, which was launched in 2016, allows customers to pick the car they want to drive and drop them off at the same station they picked it up. Private car owners can also list their cars on Maven to rent out to other individuals.

The report comes about four months after GM announced the departure of former Maven head Julia Steyn, without disclosing the reason behind her exit.

It also comes as a blow to the car-sharing industry, with Uber Technologies Inc., one of the industry pioneers, continuing to suffer losses and seeing its stock slump after its IPO in early May.