The Carsharing Telematics Market – 7th Edition

The Carsharing Telematics Market is the seventh strategy reportfrom Berg Insight analysing the latest developments on this marketworldwide including a comprehensive overview of the carsharingtelematics value chain covering 35 carsharing platform vendors and70 carsharing initiatives from specialist CSOs, car rental companiesand car OEMs. This strategic research report provides you with170 pages of unique business intelligence including 5-year industryforecasts and expert commentary on which to base your businessdecisions.

Passenger cars and light trucks are the main modes of transportation in most industrialisedcountries. The vast majority of car trips in metropolitan areas are drive-alone trips with only oneperson in the car and vehicles are used for only about one hour per day on average. Carsharingis one of many car-based mobility services available for people who occasionally want tocomplement other modes of transportation with car-based mobility. Examples of other car-basedmobility services include traditional car rental, carpooling, ridesharing, taxi and ridesourcingservices. Many of these mobility services aim to decrease the cost of car-based transportation,create convenience through fewer ownership responsibilities, as well as reduce trafficcongestion and environmental impact.

Carsharing is a decentralised car rental service focusing on short-term rentals that supplementsother modes of transport including walking, cycling and public transport. Carsharing aims toprovide an alternative to individual car ownership without restricting mobility by providingaffordable car access. Carsharing Organisations (CSOs) offer members access to a fleet ofshared cars from unattended self-service locations. Today, most CSOs worldwide use station-based networks with round-trip rental. This operational model requires members to return avehicle to the same designated station from which it was accessed. Many CSOs also offer one-way carsharing that enables users to return the car to any station operated by the CSO. Anothermodel that is gaining in popularity is free-floating carsharing, which allows members to pick upand drop off cars anywhere within a designated area or zone. The ability to access available carsinstantly without prior booking and no need to schedule a return time makes this type of serviceattractive for short trips. In some regions, more cars are now dedicated to free-floating carsharingthan station-based carsharing.

Telematics systems and smartphones are key enablers of carsharing services. In-car hardwaretechnologies for carsharing services comprise a telematics device and an RFID reader forcapturing trip data, enabling fleet management and granting access to the car through an RFIDsmartcard or smartphone app. Additional hardware solutions such as damage sensors andsmoke detectors can be installed to protect the vehicles, improve user behaviour and reduceaccidents. Software platforms include complete IT systems that can support all the operationalactivities of a CSO ranging from management of in-vehicle equipment, fleet management,booking management, billing, as well as operations supervision via dashboards and dataanalytics. Leading vendors of hardware and software platforms include Invers, Vulog, Convadis,Targa Telematics, OCTO Telematics, Humax, Ridecell, Optimum (by Shiftmove), Mobility TechGreen, Atom Mobility, CT Mobility, MOQO and Astus. Leading hardware telematics vendors suchas Teltonika Telematics and Ruptela also serve the market. Several carsharing technologyvendors also target the corporate carsharing market that aims to increase corporate carpoolavailability and reduce mobility costs. Many carsharing technology vendors partner with otheractors to expand their offerings and strengthen their value proposition.

Commercial carsharing services are offered by specialist carsharing companies, car rentalcompanies, carmakers and other actors such as public transport operators. Examples ofspecialised CSOs include Times Car in Japan; Socar in South Korea; Communauto and Evo CarShare in Canada; Miles, stadtmobil and Cambio in Germany; MyWheels and Greenwheels in theNetherlands; Enjoy in Italy; Mobility Cooperative in Switzerland; Citiz in France; Traficar inPoland; TikTak in Turkey; and GoGet in Australia. Car rental CSOs include Sixt Share (owned bySixt), Zipcar (owned by Avis Budget Group), Europcar On Demand (owned by Europcar MobilityGroup) and G Car (owned by Lotte Rental). Examples of leading CSOs backed by carmakersinclude Free2move (owned by Stellantis), Kinto Share (owned by Toyota), Mobilize Share(owned by Renault) and Wible (owned by Kia).

The carsharing market is expected to grow in the coming years. Berg Insight estimates that thetotal number of carsharing members worldwide reached 84.8 million at the end of 2024. At thesame time, the total carsharing fleet had reached about 494,000 vehicles. Berg Insight forecaststhat carsharing membership will grow to about 138.3 million globally by the end of 2029 and thetotal carsharing fleet will then reach about 755,000 cars. The corporate carsharing market ismoreover estimated to 142,000 vehicles at year-end 2024 and is forecasted to reach about270,000 vehicles in 2029. Europe and Asia-Pacific represent the majority of all carsharingprogrammes and the number of carsharing vehicles from an international perspective. The front-running markets include Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Chinaand Russia.