Skip to main content

Car-sharing service membership will grow to 26 million worldwide in 2020

According to a new research report by Berg Insight, the number of users of car-sharing services worldwide is forecasted to grow from 6.5 million people in 2015 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.0 per cent to reach 26.0 million people in 2020. Berg Insight forecasts that the number of cars used for car-sharing services will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 29.6 per cent from 123,000 at the end of 2015 to 450,000 at the end of 2020. Car-sharing is one of many car-based mobility service
November 30, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
According to a new research report by 3849 Berg Insight, the number of users of car-sharing services worldwide is forecasted to grow from 6.5 million people in 2015 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.0 per cent to reach 26.0 million people in 2020. Berg Insight forecasts that the number of cars used for car-sharing services will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 29.6 per cent from 123,000 at the end of 2015 to 450,000 at the end of 2020.
 
Car-sharing is one of many car-based mobility services that have become available for people that want to complement other modes of transportation with car-based mobility occasionally. Examples of other car-based mobility services include traditional car rental, carpooling, ridesharing, taxi and ride-sourcing services. Car-sharing is a decentralised car rental service focusing on short term rentals. Car-sharing organisations (CSOs) offer members access to a fleet of shared cars 24/7 from unattended self-service locations. Usage is billed by the minute/hour and by distance driven, with rates that include fuel, insurance and maintenance. New technologies in the form of telematics systems and smartphones are key enablers of this mobility service.
 
Car-sharing is available in about 30 countries worldwide, primarily in Europe, North America and developed markets in Asia-Pacific. Commercial services are offered by specialist car-sharing companies, car rental companies, carmakers, as well as public transport operators. Examples of leading CSOs active in multiple countries include the 2069 Daimler Group’s 4190 Car2go service, 6452 DriveNow from 1731 BMW and Sixt, 6454 Avis Budget Group’s 3874 Zipcar. However, the majority of CSOs are mainly active in a single country or a few cities. Examples include Times Car Plus in Japan, Socar in South Korea, Enjoy in Italy, Mobility Car-sharing in Switzerland, Communauto in Canada and GoGet in Australia.
 
Today, most CSOs use station-based networks offering roundtrip rental. This operational model requires users to return a vehicle to the same station from which it was accessed. Some CSOs have also started to offer one-way car-sharing that enables users to return the car to any station operated by the CSO.

“Another model that is rapidly gaining users is free floating car-sharing, which enables members to pick up and drop off cars anywhere within a designated area”, said André Malm, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight. He adds that the ability to access available cars instantly without prior booking or need to schedule return time make this type of service very attractive. “Free floating services are now available in 12 countries and 43 cities in Europe and North America, with a combined fleet of about 20,000 cars and roughly 2.0 million members at the end of 2015”, said Malm.

Related Content

  • May 5, 2016
    AV/ridesharing mix wins major auto investment
    The US has a new trend in personal mobility and David Crawford takes a closer look. US automaker General Motors and ridesharer Lyft’s announcement of a strategic partnership aimed at delivering, over time, an integrated network of on-demand autonomous as well as conventional vehicles has taken the nation’s car industry from traditional manufacturing to new arenas.
  • November 28, 2014
    Connected cars market expected grow by a third globally by 2020
    A new report by Allied Market Research, Global Connected Cars Market (Technology, Connectivity Solutions, Application, Products & Services and Geography) - Size, Share, Global Trends, Company Profiles, Demand, Insights, Analysis, Research, Report, Opportunities, Segmentation and Forecast, 2013 - 2020, indicates that the global connected cars market is forecast to reach US$141 Billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 32.7 per cent during the period 2014 - 2020. The integrated connectivity solutions segment
  • July 24, 2015
    Smart transportation market worth US$138.76 billion by 2020
    According to a new market research report, Smart Transportation Market by Solutions (Ticketing Management, Parking Management, Traffic Management, Smart Signalling, Multimodal Information Systems, Passenger Information Systems, Cloud Services, Business Services) - Global Forecast to 2020, published by MarketsandMarkets, the smart transportation market is set to grow from US$46.72 billion in 2015 to US$138.76 billion by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 24.3 per cent from 2015 to 2020.
  • April 19, 2012
    First all-electric car-sharing scheme in North America to launch
    ECOtality has announced a partnership with Car2go, a subsidiary of Daimler North America Corporation, to provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure to support what is being claimed as the first 100-per cent electric car sharing programme in North America. With plans for approximately 300 Smart Fortwo electric drive vehicles, the programme in San Diego represents the largest fleet of EVs in the United States.