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Invers Analysis: Carsharing in Europe Drives E-Mobility Forward

Analysis shows strong market concentration with two-thirds in only five countries. Additionally, the market is characterized by acquisitions and the struggle for profitability, and the boundaries between business models are becoming more fluid. Encouragingly, car sharing is driving e-mobility. Furthermore, data-based and AI-based solutions are optimizing processes.

Not only is there a concentration in terms of countries, but also on the provider side: For example, Miles took over the car-sharing business from Volkswagen Group's WeShare. Only Stellantis still believes in the business with its subsidiary Free2Move. | Photo: Miles
Not only is there a concentration in terms of countries, but also on the provider side: For example, Miles took over the car-sharing business from Volkswagen Group's WeShare. Only Stellantis still believes in the business with its subsidiary Free2Move. | Photo: Miles
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The new edition of the Mobility Barometer from the software specialist Invers offers, for the first time, a comprehensive overview of the European market for free-floating carsharing and reveals a strong trend towards market concentration. For the current barometer, Invers' research team examined public data from more than 90 carsharing operators in 29 countries, summarized relevant market studies, and interviewed selected international experts.

“It was only with the widespread use of smartphones that free-floating carsharing as a business model gained momentum and then established itself at varying speeds in many European countries. In 2008, Daimler started the first large-scale service in Germany with Car2Go, and in 2011 BMW followed as another pioneer with DriveNow. The first service started in Milan in 2013 and in Poland only in 2016,” explains Enrico Howe, Senior Market Researcher at Invers.

The 5 key findings are:

  • Strong market concentration: 70 percent of the European free-floating fleet is in five core countries. By far the largest European market for free-floating carsharing is Germany, with 18,500 vehicles in over 30 cities. From a European perspective, this means that more than a third of the European free-floating carsharing fleet is on German roads. According to Gunnar Nehrke, Managing Director of the German Carsharing Association and author of an annual nationwide carsharing study, the fact that free-floating is used so extensively in Germany can be attributed to the automakers' test strategy: “I don't think Germany is a particular market for free-floating carsharing,” says Nehrke. “The strong position of free-floating here is rather due to the fact that automakers tested this carsharing business model here before expanding to other countries.” According to national association studies, Poland follows in second place with approximately 5,500 cars, and Italy with 5,400 vehicles, each representing about 10 percent of the European free-floating fleet. Spain ranks fourth with around 3,500 to 4,000 cars, and France fifth with around 2,300 vehicles. Other large free-floating fleets can be found in Austria, Belgium, Hungary, the Netherlands, and the UK. In countries like Ireland, Switzerland, and Norway, however, there are currently no offerings in the free-floating carsharing business model.
  • Dynamic market characterized by takeovers and the pursuit of profitability. In the relatively young market, for many operators, the most important goal is to become profitable. This is evident in almost all expert interviews of the Invers Mobility Barometer. Furthermore, the market has experienced a lot of dynamism in recent months, particularly through acquisitions. At the end of 2021, GreenMobility took over the Dutch provider Fetch Mobility. Stellantis integrated Share Now into its own brand Free2move in 2022. In November 2022, MILES took over Volkswagen's free-floating fleet WeShare and is now the largest carsharing provider in Germany.
  • Boundaries between business models increasingly fluid: Operators use vehicles flexibly in sharing, subscription models, or classic rentals. Another significant trend is the combination of different business models: For example, Free-Floating operator Miles additionally offers car subscriptions, while Share Now in Münster has incorporated station-based carsharing as a complement to its core business of Free-Floating. Some providers of station-based carsharing in Germany have taken the reverse route by integrating Free-Floating. These include, for example, cambio, stadtmobil, teilAuto, and book-n-drive. An example of multimodal service expansion is Bolt Drive. The ridesharing and kickscooter-sharing provider expanded into carsharing in 2021. Sixt Share, on the other hand, utilizes synergies with the classic rental business model for its carsharing offering.
  • Carsharing drives e-mobility: small and medium-sized operators often 100 percent electric. In Germany, for example, more than 20 percent of the total carsharing fleet consists of e-cars, whereas only 3.3 percent of all vehicles registered in Germany are electric. Furthermore, numerous operators have exclusively electric fleets, such as GreenMobility in Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Finland, Aimo Share in Sweden, Voltio in Spain, e-Go! Drivalia in Italy, or Eloop in Austria. "When it comes to sustainability, we can highlight the growth of the share of electric vehicles in Italian carsharing," says Luca Refrigeri, data analyst at the Italian National Observatory of Sharing Mobility. "In 2021, the share was again over 25 percent. Additionally, the number of micro-cars in the fleets has significantly increased." In the Hanseatic city of Hamburg, carsharing companies Miles, ShareNow, Sixt, and WeShare have agreed to increase the share of electric vehicles in their fleets to at least 80 percent by the turn of 2023/24.
  • Data-based and AI-based solutions optimize business processes and offer new application possibilities. On the path to profitability, operators increasingly rely on detailed vehicle data and innovative technologies. For example, damage detection solutions can significantly optimize damage management processes and reduce revenue losses by up to 10 percent. In Free-Floating carsharing or flexible carsharing, fleet operators offer their vehicles within a defined business area where users can find the nearest available vehicle via smartphone and end the rental at any suitable parking spot within the business area.

Translated automatically from German.

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