Car-sharing is all the rage nowadays. Out fast-paced lifestyle, along with the horrendous traffic in most major cities has prompted many to leave their vehicles at home and ride around in a more convenient way while still putting safety at the forefront.
Over here in our neck of the woods, the more popular choices are Uber and Grab. But in cities like Berlin, New York, and Chongqing, there is actually another dominant name—car2go. In fat, car2go has been in the business for some eight years now, with 14,000 vehicles providing mobility to people from all walks of life.
But have you ever wondered what lies ahead for the car-sharing industry? Is it merely a passing fancy or does it really have a future? Thomas Beermann, CEO of car2go Europe GmbH gives us a glimpse of what he thinks the future holds for his company, as well as the segment as a whole.
Mr. Beermann believes that the car-sharing service, also known as free-floating car-sharing, is about to experience a huge take-off. He says this based on things like a large group of people of various backgrounds availing of the service. In fact, car2go, for instance, has rentals for its vehicles every 1.3 seconds.
Apart from this, there is actually a large and growing demand for car-sharing. Car2go has some two million users, while the total number of worldwide ride-sharing patrons is pegged at an estimated 7.9 million. This figure, says Frost and Sullivan Management Consultancy, will boom—jumping to a predicted 36.7 million by the year 2025. This stems from the need to free up parking spaces, congestion, and clean up air pollution brought about by too many private vehicles, which have already reached their saturation point.
As for the services, ride-sharing has already started ushering in the era of the connected car—where the vehicle and the rider can easily be located through a smartphone app. Then there could be other useful services like parcel delivery and the like. Experts also predict that car-sharing will have an electric and autonomous future. The latter will greatly aid in improving air quality and reduce demand on precious fossil fuels, while the latter will improve service efficiency and fleet management. Clients can call a car at any time, even if there is no driver available. Moreover, overhead costs can be reduced.
It looks like an exciting time lies ahead for the ride-sharing service industry. Are you coming along for the ride?
