Car sharing is primarily a private-sector business operating in an area where the state also provides mobility services through traditional public transport as part of its remit to deliver public services and infrastructure. From your perspective and that of your members, how do you view this situation?

Car sharing and public transport complement each other and can benefit from each other. Local authorities and public transport companies view car sharing’s economic viability as an opportunity to expand local mobility services without placing an additional financial burden on the budget.

As an association, you emphasize that car sharing is part of resource-efficient and climate-neutral mobility in close cooperation with other players in the eco-friendly transport network. What role does car sharing play in this?

Car sharing is the automotive component of eco-friendly transport. Households that switch from private cars to car sharing are no longer financially tied to a car. They try out other modes of transport and realize that a car is not the best choice for many journeys.
This benefits climate-friendly alternatives such as buses, trains, and bicycles.

The Mobility in Germany study shows that car sharing households drive much less frequently on average than car-owning households, even though they always have a shared car at their disposal.

Can you give some examples of successful cooperation between car sharing operators and public transport providers? What exactly do these partnerships entail? How do customers experience them in practice?

Car sharing services are available in around 1,400 German cities. Examples of cooperation range from marketing partnerships and the joint development of mobility stations to shared travel information in digital apps. From a customer’s perspective, it is important that car sharing and public transport are easily accessible and readily available.

Our most important common goal is therefore to establish a dense mobility infrastructure consisting of public transport stops, car sharing stations and mobility stations, providing a convenient and cost-effective alternative to private cars.

What are the key factors for successful cooperation between car sharing and public transport companies?

The most important factor is a mutual understanding of each other’s business models. Public transport companies evaluate their own mobility services primarily from the perspective of public service, participation and creating equal living conditions.

While car sharing providers also have these goals, as commercially viable companies they must also ask themselves: How can we at least break even? This difference can lead to different answers to questions such as: What is the goal of expanding our services? Or: How deeply should we integrate into a public transport app?

In good partnerships, partners adapt to these differences.

Can you think of any examples of public transport providers in Germany offering their own car sharing services? What distinguishes these services?

There are a few, but not that many. Most of them operate in areas where car sharing would not be economically viable in isolation. If you cannot order the service from a car sharing provider, you have to set it up yourself. This is more common in rural areas and small communities, where municipal utilities also operate car sharing services.

In most larger cities, there is no need for a separate car sharing subsidiary because private car sharing providers are already active there. Augsburg, Ulm and Leverkusen are among the few larger cities where a public company also offers car sharing. These services are no different to those offered by private providers.

As an association, you emphasize that car sharing is particularly effective in regions with well-developed public transport systems. What role does car sharing play in rural areas, where public transport systems are less developed?

Car sharing can work anywhere. That is also our position as an association. There are excellent car sharing services in villages of 500 inhabitants with no bus connections. However, our position as an association is that car sharing only realizes its full traffic and environmental benefits where there is a well-developed public transport system and good cycling infrastructure. This is because car sharing is intended to replace car journeys with bicycle and public transport journeys. But how can this shift occur if public transport services are poor and cycling is unattractive?

In such cases, car sharing can still exist, but it mainly ensures that participating households replace second and third cars with car sharing. While this is positive, it does not achieve the full transport and climate policy benefits that car sharing can deliver. Therefore, car sharing only achieves its full effect when other eco-friendly modes of transport are readily available and easy to use. Then they complement each other perfectly.

In terms of resource conservation and climate neutrality, what potential do you see for optimizing and further developing the interaction between car sharing and public transport?

Multimodal mobility like combining public transportation, bicycles, and car sharing is superior to monomodal car transportation in terms of energy consumption, land use, and often, costs for users. The multimodal mobility industry should emphasize this repeatedly.

In order to ensure a seamless integration into users’ everyday lives and inspire enthusiasm among new users, we must collaborate to complete our operational tasks. We currently view multimodal apps as a key area for optimization. The car sharing business model requires rapid responses to user needs and full digitalization behind the scenes.

Public transportation tends to change more slowly because many aspects are planned and agreed upon long term. The different speeds of digital integration into shared apps sometimes lead to conflicts. That is why, as an association for multimodal apps, we recommend “flat full integration.” This approach makes the car sharing product visible in public transport apps without any loss of quality. However, the core processes essential for user satisfaction remain in the specialized car sharing app.

This approach is pragmatic, cost-effective, and sustainable. Unfortunately, we have observed that many deeply integrated apps become obsolete or must be discontinued due to high update costs. From a customer’s perspective, flat full integration ensures a more reliable service.

What forms of cooperation and ideas would you like to see in the future?

The goal is to offer a better alternative to private cars that is more convenient, cost-effective, and climate-friendly. Good local availability is the most important factor for success. Local authorities, public transportation companies, and car sharing providers must work closely together to set up car sharing and mobility stations in public spaces. Many places have now developed well-established processes for this purpose, and it works particularly well in Dresden and Darmstadt, for example.

Car sharing and public transportation companies should also collaborate closely to develop digital multimodal apps. There is further potential for greater efficiency through the standardization of interfaces and integration levels.

We foresee joint multimodal mobility budgets for companies, as well as the establishment of joint control centers for autonomous and teleoperated driving, as future topics.

Thank you, Gunnar, for the interview and valuable insights on the partnership between Car Sharing and Public Transport!

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Table of Contents

• What works best when educating users?
• Why must charging infrastructure come before the vehicles?
• How should EV fleets handle mixed charging standards?
• What metrics do EV fleets need to track?

What works best when educating users?

For fleets introducing EVs to shared environments, user education quickly becomes operational risk management. At Modo, where more than 200 EVs span multiple models, even small differences between vehicles created confusion: charging ports in different locations, varying plug types, and different unlocking steps.

For members unfamiliar with EVs, especially first-time drivers or those facing language barriers, written instructions did not solve the problem.

Erin Sullivan, Director of Operations of Modo Carsharing Co-op, shared that they began with FAQs, printed materials, and events, but the breakthrough was embedding short, model-specific YouTube videos into the booking flow. Before a trip, members watch a video showing how to handle charging for their vehicle. The lesson: simple, direct instruction works best.

“Video is the best way,” Erin said. “Many members are new to Canada or are visual learners. Just show me on my phone in a minute, and I’ll get it.”

The results were immediate: support questions dropped, user confidence improved, and feedback was positive. Physical in-car materials still help, but Modo is moving to QR codes linked to the same videos. This approach lets the team update content remotely across the fleet, without site visits.

The lesson is clear: shared mobility education should be visual, immediate, and tailored to the specific vehicle. This ensures users know how things work before arrival, reducing operational friction and streamlining processes.

Why must charging infrastructure come before the vehicles?

Without a reliable charging infrastructure, EVs become parked assets instead of operational vehicles.

Robert Crawford, Administrative Manager of Fleet Services at the County of Ventura, put it plainly: a fleet can secure funding and take delivery of electric vehicles, but if there isn’t dependable charging infrastructure ready to support them, those vehicles risk sitting idle.

“As a fleet department, I’ve got the capital to buy any vehicle I want at any time,” Robert explained. “But if I don’t have a place to plug it in, I really don’t want to have substantial capital just sitting in the parking lot waiting.”

The County of Ventura took a deliberate, multi-step approach to infrastructure. A key move was partnering with Southern California Edison through the Charge Ready program. In exchange for a ten-year property easement and usage data, Edison handled the full underground infrastructure build, including transformers, breakers, meters, and trenching, at no cost to the county. This turned a major capital expense into a structured long-term commitment.

The County of Ventura also added solar-powered off-grid charging at remote leased sites where trenching was not possible. State grants and California Energy Commission funding supported these installations. As grants become harder to secure, the county now employs a full-time sustainability administrator to track grants and manage funding strategy. Robert considers this role essential.

His practical guidance for operators navigating a more competitive funding landscape: build peer networks. Through the Central Coast Fleet Association, fleet leaders meet quarterly to share what’s working, what isn’t, and where funding opportunities exist.

For car sharing operators, equivalent industry networks serve the same strategic purpose.

Modo operates in dense urban neighborhoods with shared parking and limited charger availability, but reached the same conclusion. Whether through developer partnerships, curbside dual-port charging, Level 1 solutions, or vehicle-swapping models, the principle is the same: charging access determines fleet viability. Vehicles can be added quickly. Infrastructure takes longer.

Takeaway: Infrastructure is the critical foundation for any EV fleet. Charging access must be prioritized before vehicle acquisition for program success.

How should EV fleets handle mixed charging standards?

Fleets should focus less on plug types and more on the overall charging strategy.
As NACS becomes the standard, some operators worry that CCS vehicles will become obsolete. Charging standards are evolving, but Kapil Shah, Data Analytics and Auto Industry Analysis at AutoMobility Advisors, stresses the transition is gradual and manageable despite uneven infrastructure.

For fleets, the main operational question is not which plug type will win. It is whether there is a clear adapter strategy, proper driver education, and a defined charging policy. NACS became the standard mainly because Tesla’s Supercharger network is large and well distributed, covering major cities and connecting regions in ways CCS has not.

Kapil estimates it will take 5 to 10 years for NACS to fully replace CCS in available infrastructure.

This transition period is manageable and may offer advantages. As more consumers choose NACS-equipped vehicles, CCS models could become more affordable on the secondary market. Fleet operators with the right adapter strategy can benefit from lower costs without losing usability.

The key is to know which adapters your vehicles need and include them as standard equipment in the fleet.

Erin Sullivan offered a real-world example of this transition in action. Rather than waiting for infrastructure alignment, her team created 3D-printed adapter brackets so members always have what they need to plug in. It’s practical. It’s hands-on. And it works.

Takeaway: Mixed charging standards are manageable when fleets have the right adapters, processes, and training to ensure smooth operation and lower costs.

What metrics do EV fleets need to track?

At a minimum, fleets should track state of charge, plug-in status, and charging progress.

Managing EVs requires different data than managing combustion vehicles. Chris Anderson, INVERS Sales Director, says key EV fleet data are whether the vehicle is plugged in, charging, and its current charge level. In shared fleets, these determine if a vehicle is available or offline.

“Knowing that the vehicle is plugged in, knowing that it is charging, and knowing what the current charge status is — those are the big differences for EV,” Chris noted.

A vehicle returned at 7% charge and left unplugged is not just a poor user experience. It takes the vehicle out of service. End-of-trip charge visibility on the platform lets operators act before a low-charge vehicle results in a missed booking.

On the hardware side, EVs have simplified some aspects of telematics installation. Most modern EVs use push-button start, so complex direct wiring is less important. Key fob integration with OBD or CAN bus connectivity provides access control and data, often with a simpler installation than many older ICE vehicles.

EV fleet management isn’t just about new vehicles; it requires updated metrics, timing, and response processes.

The bigger picture

Success depends on the system built around the vehicle, not the vehicle itself. For those looking to go further, the full webinar recording includes additional discussion on EV maintenance realities such as what operators are spending versus industry benchmarks, and where the real surprises tend to show up.

Kapil Shah of AutoMobility Advisors also published the Smarter Shared Fleets: 10 EVs Built for Carsharing guide offering a more detailed look into the operational framework for EV selection and deployment. You can get a free copy here: https://www.automobilityadvisors.com/product/ama-white-papers-reports-2026/

Table of Content

• Car sharing meets public transport
• Public transport running car sharing
• Other forms of cooperation

Car sharing meets public transport

Car sharing and public transport are closely connected. Studies show that car sharing users are much more likely to use public transport frequently than private car owners. In Brussels, for example, 70% of Cambio users and 65% of Poppy users hold a public transport subscription.

Car sharing operators often offer tailored packages for public transport users and place stations close to major transit hubs. Public transport operators are also increasingly investing in mobility ecosystems to make alternatives to car ownership more appealing. Examples include Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) apps that connect shared mobility and public transport, participation in UITP working groups and industry conferences, and adding car sharing services to their service portfolio.

6 examples of public transport operators that run car sharing services

Below are six examples of car sharing brands run by public transport operators at national, regional, or local levels:

Flinkster

Germany I Deutsche Bahn (DB) I Website

Flinkster is the station-based car sharing service of Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s national railway operator. Located near Deutsche Bahn (DB) railway stations, the service seamlessly connects rail travel with shared mobility. Flinkster supports DB’s strategy to extend public transport beyond rail and bus by integrating car sharing into its core offering.

ÖBB Rail&Drive

Austria I Österreichische Bundesbahnen (ÖBB) I Website

ÖBB, Austria’s national rail operator, carries around half a billion passengers each year. Through ÖBB Rail&Drive, it offers car sharing with hundreds of cars at railway stations in over 40 cities across Austria. This integration gives train passengers a practical option for first- and last-mile travel. By integrating car sharing with rail travel, ÖBB Rail&Drive ensures a smooth, sustainable journey from door to door.

Corrente

Italy I Trasporto Passeggeri Emilia Romagna (TPER) I Website

Corrente is an electric, free-floating car sharing service with over 300 vehicles in Italy. Cars can be rented in cities such as Bologna or Ferrara. Operated by TPER, which also manages local buses and trolleybuses, Corrente reaches into the Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL), as described by Fabio Teti in our insights interview on free-floating car sharing in the Emilia-Romagna region.

WienMobil Auto

Austria I Wiener Linien I Website

Wiener Linien, Vienna’s public transport operator, manages underground lines, trams, buses, and around 100 WienMobil Auto car sharing vehicles. The car sharing fleet is fully electric and spread throughout the city. Pass holders received discounts on car sharing packages and subscription fees. Wiener Linien is also hosting the 2026 edition of the industry conference Shared Mobility Rocks in Vienna, highlighting the role of shared mobility to public transport operators.

Flex

Luxembourg I Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois (CFL) I Website

CFL Mobility, subsidiary of Luxembourg’s state-owned rail operator CFL, runs the station-based car sharing service Flex. Flex operates about 100 stations and 25,000 members. The company recently integrated the car sharing offer Carloh. It remains the key car sharing provider in Luxembourg, offering a wide range of vehicles, including the Audi A1, Fiat Talento, VW ID. Buzz Cargo, or MINI Cooper, catering to different needs from urban trips to cargo transport.

swu2go

Germany I SWU – Stadtwerke Ulm/Neu-Ulm I Website

The municipal utility company group SWU – Stadtwerke provides electricity, gas, water, heat, telecommunications, and also operates public transport in the Ulm/Neu-Ulm region in Germany. Car sharing is an integrated part of their mobility offerings under the brand swu2go. Their car sharing fleet is fully electric and available at approximately 30 stations across the region.

Selected other forms of cooperation between public transport and car sharing

In addition to public transport operators running car sharing services, there are several other forms of cooperation in the market. Examples include:

Low-level partnerships and campaigns:

These include one-time trial campaigns, limited-time offers, and event-based campaigns such as vouchers for combining train or tram travel with car sharing (i.e. “Arrive by train/tram, return by car share”). Such initiatives encourage users to try new modes and raise awareness, supporting multimodal and intermodal connections.

Strategic partnerships and cooperation:

Examples of these longer-term collaborations include Mobility and SBB placing a third of Mobility’s cars at train stations, Enterprise CarShare UK’s pilot with Southeastern to increase car sharing at local train stations, and Caruso’s integration with public transport passes such as Klimaticket VMOBIL or Klimaticket Österreich.

Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) integrations:

Many cities have launched large-scale MaaS solutions that combine public transport and shared mobility. Examples include Jelbi in Berlin, Floya in Brussels, hvv switch in Hamburg, and Madrid Mobility 360 in Madrid. Berlin and Hamburg plan to merge their MaaS apps in 2026, creating a unified platform for both cities.

Global networking and enablement:

Public transport and shared mobility are building joint forums and working groups to support deeper collaboration with the goal to make shared mobility an integral part of integrated public transport systems. Examples include shared mobility working groups of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) and Wiener Linien organization of the industry networking event Shared Mobility Rocks in 2026.

Outlook

Cooperation between public transportation and car sharing services takes many forms, with several models in place for years. While some public transport operators directly run their own car sharing systems, many more use partnerships to strengthen connected mobility. Ongoing efforts aim to further integrate car sharing and shared mobility into public transportation systems, helping cities move closer to seamless, sustainable and user-friendly mobility for all.

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1. What are shared taxi fleets and why did you start your taxi digitization initiative?

Shared taxi fleets describe a model where a taxi operator provides a pool of vehicles for independent drivers to rent for their shifts, instead of drivers owning the cars themselves.

Our initiative started with an inbound lead from a taxi operator who was already running a shared fleet. They needed a more flexible solution with better performance. Agility and flexibility are in GoodMoovs’ DNA. Our commitment to shared mobility allows us to respond quickly and design solutions around each client’s specific needs. When we sat down and looked at their needs, we realized there was a very strong match with the car sharing functionalities we already had at GoodMoovs. In this case, we only needed to develop small additional features to make their business case work.

2. How do you enable digital fleet operations with your software?

We provide a holistic white-label platform that combines everything an operator needs. This includes an app for the drivers to book a vehicle for their shift, comprehensive back-office tools, and 24/7 call center support.

The 24/7 aspect is critical because the taxi business is an around-the-clock operation. Especially in urban regions like Amsterdam, taxis operate just as much at night as they do during the day.

Some of our clients like RentaCab want to ensure their brand is consistent across the board. So, instead of a GoodMoovs app, their drivers download a branded app with their logos, their specific FAQs, and tailored functionalities. Under the hood, it’s our engine, but to the driver, it’s entirely the operator’s ecosystem.

3. What are the major challenges in operating shared taxi fleets, and how can you solve them with technology?

One major challenge for operating a shared taxi fleet is keyless access. It makes the entire operations possible but requires constant vehicle connectivity. Reliable telematics like CloudBoxx ensure vehicle’s uptime so that drivers can always access their cars.

Another critical challenge is driver accountability and damage control. Since drivers of shared taxi fleets do not own their vehicles, they might care less about the condition and integrity of the car. Technology helps us address this by implementing accountability mechanisms for damages. Of course, we don’t want to act as a digital police. However, this data helps balancing flexible usage with mitigating unwanted costs for the operator.

4. Why did you choose the INVERS integration for digitizing taxi businesses?

The decision was twofold. First, it was a client-driven requirement. There were regular car sharing operators who wanted to work with us while already successfully running on INVERS hardware. They didn’t want to move away from CloudBoxx, so integrating INVERS was necessary to serve them.

But INVERS was also a strategic partner fit. We needed a partner that could supply us regardless of vehicle brand or age. Whether a car is five years or two weeks old, we need to get it up and running quickly and reliably. Compared to the alternatives, INVERS convinced with superior R&D behind products like CloudBoxx, allowing us to succeed in high-intensity taxi operations.

5. Which telematics signals are truly essential for taxi digitization and why?

In our day-to-day business, the engine running signal is absolute key. It is critical for reliability and knowing each vehicle’s status.

The second essential signal is State of Charge (SoC) which is paramount for EV taxi fleets. At GoodMoovs, we are also implementing energy functionalities like smart charging and hopefully vehicle-to-grid (V2G) in the future. Since we know exactly when a car is reserved next, optimizing charging to minimize local grid capacity becomes a “no-brainer” for cost savings.

6. Which KPIs best prove business impact for taxi operators?

The core KPI is the utilization rate. Operators of shared taxi fleets want their vehicles to be used as much as possible. Especially as their drivers are often not employees but independent business owners who pay for every minute they use the vehicle.

Mileage is another key indicator. It shows how well the taxi operation is performing and highlights seasonal patterns like the busy periods after summer or during the holidays.

Finally, turnover per vehicle is a very easy KPI to see how the business is really doing. Since we are talking about usage monetization per minute or hour, this metric directly correlates to operator performance.

7. What are the biggest rollout pitfalls when digitizing a taxi business?

One of the biggest pitfalls is dealing with hardware installation, especially with new vehicle models. For example, we recently integrated a fleet of BMW i5s for a client. We were the first to bring this model to market in this capacity, so the vehicle had to be analyzed before we could install telematics and ensure reliable operations.

8. What were your biggest successes when working with taxi operators?

Our biggest success has to be uptime and reliability. While our agreements now clarify that interruptions of one hour or less fall within our standard SLA and do not trigger liability, we still treat every minute as critical. We built our platform with deep redundancy because we know the stakes in the taxi business are incredibly high. Even with that one-hour buffer in place, we haven’t had any unusual outages in the 2.5 years since entering this segment. In a high-intensity industry, that level of stability is a massive win.

Another success is the market pull. Once we onboarded our first customer and proved the model worked, we saw additional operators join us. The market develops fast, especially in a country like the Netherlands, and our ability to deliver a stable, flexible solution has fueled our growth.

9. Looking ahead 2–3 years, how will digitalization affect the taxi industry?

I foresee continued growth of models with self-employed taxi drivers, particularly in markets where this is legally allowed. Schiphol Taxi Network (STN) in Amsterdam is a prime example of this development.

We will likely see traditional taxi companies shifting toward being fleet owners rather than employers. They will facilitate the vehicles and the technology, while the drivers run their own micro-businesses.

Further digitization could gradually move toward app-driven models. While it’s looking a bit further ahead, perhaps 10 to 15 years, we might see a convergence where the driver’s application and the end-user’s hailing app morph into one interface, similar to what we see with autonomous mobility pilots like Waymo. However, in the near term (2–3 years), the focus will remain on optimizing the driver and backend operational layers, rather than replacing consumer-facing apps like Uber or Bolt.

10. Are there any other new business models you are exploring?

Yes, specifically in the Netherlands, we are developing a “Parttime Lease” concept. This initiative turns a traditional personal lease car into a shareable asset. It allows the primary user to share the vehicle with family members, neighbors, or coworkers when they aren’t using it. Similar to shared taxi fleet models, this optimizes vehicle utilization and delivers significant cost savings for the primary user, month after month.

Thank you, Didier, for the interview and valuable insights on digitizing the taxis business!

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Telematics has evolved rapidly over the past decade. However, many industry assumptions haven’t kept pace. This gap has led to widespread misconceptions that continue to shape operator evaluations.

We see two persistent sources of myths among fleet operators: outdated assumptions, and category errors that treat all types of vehicle telematics as equivalent when they’re fundamentally different technologies. GPS trackers and basic fleet telematics are designed to share data while vehicles run.

Car sharing systems, on the other hand, are built from the ground up to reliably and quickly respond to vehicle sharing operations: lock, unlock, immobilization, offline functionality.

When operators familiar with GPS trackers evaluate car sharing platforms, they often assume the same limitations apply. They don’t.

Table of Contents

• Myth 1: Telematics are slow to respond to commands
• Myth 2: Telematics stop working when offline
• Myth 3: Telematics drains vehicle batteries quickly
• Myth 4: Hardware needs frequent updates
• Questions from Operators

Myth #1: Telematics are slow to respond to commands

This assumption dates back to early car-sharing deployments that used SMS commands. Julius Walczynski, Marketing Manager at INVERS, recalled his first Vancouver car sharing experience over a decade ago: “You’d wait several seconds, sometimes even up to a minute. But because the technology was so new and cool, it didn’t matter.”

Today, user expectations are different.

“Modern systems respond in under a second,” Max explained. “The myth about slow response is outdated. Modern telematics are highly optimized for current network providers, reducing latency in the communication stack.”

When network issues occur, Bluetooth provides a fallback. “The user’s phone connects directly to the telematics, bypassing the network entirely,” Max said. “It mimics the response speed of using a physical key.”

Slow responses today typically signal outdated hardware or systems not purpose-built for shared vehicle access.

Myth #2: Telematics stop working when offline

Parking garages and remote areas are often assumed to cause lost access and lost data.

“Even if a vehicle looks offline, all functions continue without cellular or Wi-Fi,” Max explained.

“Local vehicle control via Bluetooth tokens handles lock, unlock, and immobilization. Events and data continue logging, then resync with the cloud once back in network connection.”

At reservation start, a Bluetooth token (an access grant authenticating the user) is delivered to the user’s phone. For the rental duration, the offline workflow eliminates network dependency.

Max pointed out something many operators miss: “Bluetooth works both ways. If a vehicle is parked underground at the reservation end, the last vehicle state data transfers from the telematics to the user’s phone. When the user gets back into network connectivity, the operator gets that data.”

This includes odometer readings, fuel or state-of-charge information, and any other telematics-reported data.

What about extended off-grid trips? Julius asked about customers in North America and Australia, where vast areas lack cellular coverage.

“Operators can set Bluetooth token validity for whenever they want,” Max said. “Urban areas might be 30 minutes. Operators can set tokens to two-day or indefinite, open-ended. If a user is delayed in the outback of Australia and goes a day over their reservation for an emergency, they’re not locked out. When back in coverage and the reservation ends, the token is revoked.”

Myth #3: Telematics drains vehicle batteries quickly

If a device is always connected, always reporting, it must be drawing power continuously. Right?

“Modern telematics perform quick, dynamic cycles of active and idle states to save power,” Max explained. “When reporting vehicle states while idle, it quickly powers up, transmits data, then powers down after connecting to the network.”

Older systems stayed alive trying to find a network connection in low-reception areas. That constant uptime caused battery trouble. Modern systems recognize poor connectivity and shut down quickly rather than continue searching.

Max offered the analogy: “It’s like your phone, turning on airplane mode stops the phone from searching for signals, which greatly reduces battery usage. Similarly, when a telematics unit isn’t actively trying to connect to the network, it conserves power. If Wi-Fi or cellular searches continue, both devices use more battery.”

“Operators don’t need to actively monitor their vehicles,” Max added. “Low battery warnings from the telematics notify the operator when the level drops below a certain threshold. You can rely on the telematics telling you if anything changes.”

Low-battery alerts aren’t always technical issues. Vehicles sitting unused for extended periods naturally trigger warnings, which should prompt operators to reassess fleet placement or utilization.

Myth #4: Hardware needs frequent updates

Modern car-sharing telematics are designed to be future-proof and can be re-used through several vehicles.

“Most improvements and upgrades are delivered through over-the-air updates,” Max explained. “Firmware enhancements, modem and SIM optimizations, and Bluetooth improvements often address connectivity or performance issues without physical changes to the vehicle.”

A real example from Chile: Max described working with a customer where network quality was notoriously poor.

“Maybe 50 to 75% of the fleet was online. Having 25% offline due to network issues is not great. Our connectivity team optimized the firmware and SIM card firmware for this operator, without touching the vehicles, resulting in much improved connectivity.”

When operators replace vehicles, hardware doesn’t have to retire. “Modern telematics units last several years over multiple vehicle cycles,” Max said. “Modular ports allow new plug-and-play add-ons, such as our AI damage detection unit or even future technology we haven’t created yet, without swapping devices.”

Operators control when updates deploy, similar to smartphone updates. “We leave it up to the operator if they choose to update,” Max explained. “With critical network and modem updates we find absolutely necessary, we inform the customer, coordinate, then push that update.”

Max shared an example: “Tesla made a software update that broke state-of-charge data for all operators with Model 3 and Model Y vehicles. We proactively reanalyzed that vehicle, and with the operator’s permission, updated their fleet.”

Questions from the audience

Q: What does it mean when I keep getting low battery warnings across the fleet?

Max: If warnings cluster in a certain area, utilization of that fleet segment is likely low, with vehicles not getting used for two or three weeks. This is a great tool to act proactively and redistribute those vehicles to higher-demand areas. A technical battery drain issue could also be the case. Quite a few modern hybrids have smaller batteries, but if a vehicle gets used once every two weeks, that won’t be an issue.

Q: Can over-the-air configuration updates be done in bulk or automatically?

Max: They can be done in bulk, but generally they’re not done automatically; because ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.’ If a vehicle is operating correctly and there’s an update that adds a data point or changes locking configuration, if your vehicle works fine, there’s no real need to update. If there’s a critical update, we’ll let the operator know.

Q: Is a bigger 12-volt battery better for telematics?

Max: If you’re upgrading because the battery is ten years old or at the end of life, put the largest capacity you can. This is especially true in car sharing, where there’s potential for underused vehicles. But if vehicles get rented daily and driven more than five or ten minutes at a time, you don’t need a high-capacity battery—they’re getting topped up often.

Key Takeaways

Most operator concerns—response delays, connectivity gaps, battery drain, hardware churn—trace back to outdated assumptions or experience with systems never designed for car sharing.

Modern car-sharing-grade telematics responds in under a second, functions offline, manages power automatically, and evolves through software updates. It’s built to reduce operational complexity, not create it.

For operators evaluating systems or trying to understand what telematics does: you don’t need to overthink it. With purpose-built systems, telematics becomes the quiet infrastructure that supports operations, surfaces issues when they matter, and gives you confidence to scale.

Did you miss the live session? Watch the full webinar to revisit the discussion.

Table of Contents

• New Cars, No Data
• How to Analyze a Vehicle for Car Sharing
• Our Support Philosophy
• Proactive Solutions for a Dynamic Market

New Cars, No Data

Imagine dozens of the newest EV models arriving at your workshop one day. The goal of your installation and infleeting teams is clear: get the vehicles equipped, off the yard, and into operation as quickly as possible, ideally without ever having to touch them again. Meanwhile, you already have the marketing campaigns ready and customers anticipating your new cars. But unexpectedly, it turns out that you can’t access critical vehicle data that’s needed for your car sharing operations. Your fleet is grounded before its first rental.

This is exactly what happened to one of our customers as a result of an unannounced update by the vehicle manufacturer. But more on this later.

Integrating new vehicles, adapting to unexpected OEM software updates or hardware changes (e.g. wiring) is a major operational challenge. Without a proper analysis of the CAN bus or OBD data, a single missing or misinterpreted signal can stop the entire operation.

In this article, we’ll explore the importance of vehicle analysis for car sharing. We’ll then explain how we empower your local teams or – if nothing else worked – fly experts out to your location to solve complex integration challenges and make your car sharing work.

How to Analyze a Vehicle for Car Sharing

Modern cars are complex data ecosystems. Currently, you can access this data by analyzing the CAN bus, getting the data via OBD port, or conducting a hybrid analysis with both.

This analysis is the basis of reliable fleet integration. It’s how we guarantee that the data your customers see in the app reliably reflects reality. This reliability means knowing for a fact that a lock status is accurate, so that a user never walks away from an unsecured car. It means ensuring the state of charge (SoC) reading is precise, so a customer is never stranded with an empty battery that the system thought was full.

Each of these data points has a specific sequence of 1s and 0s on the vehicle’s CAN bus. Our engineers enable relevant commands for car sharing by locating these sequences on the bus. By translating this vehicle language correctly, we eliminate the guesswork that leads to operational failures.

Every vehicle model has a different CAN bus data structure. Sometimes even individual vehicles within the same model year differ. At INVERS, we have analyzed more than 1,000 cars to be truly vehicle agnostic so we can speak the language of any car you choose to add to your fleet. Even if you plan to use a vehicle model that has not been analyzed yet, our team can perform the necessary analysis in just a few days.

Our Support Philosophy

A little issue can make the whole integration process an even bigger challenge. We have structured our support to handle everything from routine installations to critical integration blockers, ensuring that your fleet remains available and reliable. Here is what we do:

Empower Your Team with Expert Training

Reliability starts with the installation. We operate on a “Train the Trainer” model where we provide your local team with the expertise they need to install our telematics and integrate it with your system.

Our SmartControl app provides your team with step-by-step installation guides. They help technicians to locate the precise wires and connection points to set up and test each vehicle for sharing. With our Installation Jobs feature, you can use a one-for-all tool that turns a complex engineering task into a scalable and repeatable installation process. By allowing you to pre-configure installation tasks and assign specific jobs to technicians, it minimizes manual data entry and reduces the risk of errors. This empowers your team to be self-sufficient, ensuring that every hardware unit is set up correctly to prevent future operational impairments.

Onsite Support for Critical Integration Problems

Sometimes your trained technician follows the playbook but the data isn’t there. A minor facelift may not seem like a big change, but data can move to an entire new CAN or be sent in a different format so that the telematics doesn’t catch the right data anymore. In these rare cases we offer a fallback where we literally go the extra mile for you to ensure your operations don’t stall.

To illustrate this, let’s return to the customer story mentioned earlier:

The Problem:

One of our customers was about to integrate a large volume of new Cupra Borns. These vehicles were identical to the VW ID.3 models we had previously analyzed. However, the manufacturer had introduced a silent facelift that fundamentally changed the CAN design without any external documentation or warning. Consequently, critical charging data like SoC was missing, making the vehicles unreliable for rental.

The Challenge:

The vehicles were on site and ready to be deployed. The missing data made them unusable and local experts could not find the issue.

The Solution:

This was a critical case. The only solution was flying over to the installer’s site the very next morning as there where many cars were waiting to be equipped. Onsite, our expert performed a deep analysis and discovered VW had moved the data to an entirely different CAN. He physically mapped the new design and developed the fix on the spot.

The Result:

Our customer was able to integrate the new Cupra Borns and make them available for customers right after our visit, turning a potential reliability crisis into a successful launch.

Proactive Solutions for a Dynamic Market

New models aren’t the only challenge. Sometimes it’s existing ones that change after an update, threatening the reliability of your active fleet. The best support is invisible, which is why our vehicle analysis team works proactively to solve problems before they stop your fleet.

A prime example of this is Tesla’s Over-the-Air (OTA) updates.

The Problem:

A Tesla software update can silently move or change CAN bus data structure. Suddenly, data like SoC or mileage might disappear across your entire Tesla fleet. A fleet that was reliable yesterday becomes a blind spot today. Because these shifts are extremely rare, many technology providers do not actively monitor for them, leaving operators vulnerable when they do occur.

The Solution:

We keep a vigilant eye on these irregularities and re-analyze immediately when necessary. That’s how we solved the latest incident by replicating a critical Tesla update on our own in-house test vehicle. Our team analyzed the changes to find the new data locations and updated our platform’s logic and our telematics devices over the air (OTA).

The Benefit:

Because our platform can tell the difference between the OEMs firmware versions, the fix is applied automatically via OTA updates. Your fleet updates itself with no site visits or hardware changes required. This is the power of a true technology partnership, ensuring continuous reliability even when the vehicles themselves change.

How to Ensure Seamless Vehicle Integration

Integrating a modern and diverse fleet is one of the most complex technical challenges in shared mobility. Smooth and successful integrations are the end product of a deep and continuous vehicle analysis process designed to guarantee reliability. Every layer of support is built on the foundation of our engineering team’s ability to analyze and understand any vehicle.

Don’t let vehicle integration be a bottleneck. Partner with a team that has over 30 years of experience in solving car sharing’s toughest vehicle analysis challenges. Contact us to learn how our engineering expertise can future-proof your fleet and ensure 24/7 reliability.

The European car sharing market is complex, featuring a diverse range of business models implemented on the streets. Operators employ various strategies, such as station-based services, peer-to-peer car sharing, and free-floating services, to address different use cases with distinct service. In addition, the European car sharing market is one of the largest and the most complex in the world. To address and explain some of these complexities, INVERS publishes their INVERS Mobility Barometer on “European Car Sharing 2025”. This 76-page report helps car sharing operators quickly understand key market dynamics, insights, and trends.

Table of Contents

• Current EV fleet and changes over time
• Differences in electrification across markets
• Challenges for further EV rollout
• Policy support for further electrification

What does your current electric vehicle fleet look like? How has it changed over time?

Our electric vehicle journey started in 2011 with the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. Early on, we realized electric vehicle bookings needed more than just time slots – so we began guaranteeing a minimum range for every electric car booking, and at cambio we still hold ourselves to that today, because a car with an empty battery is not the reliable mobility we are committed to offer. Small yet fully featured cars are our backbone, the Renault Zoe fulfills just that and powered our first scaling phase thanks to its reliability. More recently, we’ve leaned into models that also exist as combustion engine versions with automatic drivetrain to make switching easier for customers – especially the Opel Corsa. We also use estates and vans where it fits. We’ve grown our electric car fleet to nearly 800 vehicles, driven by conviction, but future growth largely hinges on strong municipal support and the availability of cars more suitable for carsharing.

How does your fleet electrification differ across markets? What can we learn from your most successful markets?

Electrification looks very different by city. In our most mature locations, roughly one in three cars is electric – and that’s where things get tricky and the real learning starts. Many operational challenges only surface at higher EV shares: logistics across stations, peak-time availability, and edge cases that don’t fit neat playbooks. The key success factor is efficiency driven by software. We tightly integrate the customer app, booking system, and fleet operations, using live vehicle and charging data (state of charge, charging status) to automate decisions and handle exceptions quickly.

What’s your biggest challenge for further EV rollout?

Our biggest challenge is making high electric vehicle shares work in every neighborhood by covering all use cases. Inner-city trips are straightforward, and regional trips are addressed by our guaranteed-range approach. Long-distance travel, however, imposes tougher requirements: higher real-world range, strong fast-charging performance, and comfort at motorway speeds. During holiday periods, it’s common for more than two-thirds of our fleet to be “on vacation” with users – so if our electric cars aren’t vacation-ready, we can’t meet demand. The takeaway: we need vehicles that reliably meet long-distance requirements. Today, those electric vehicles typically come at roughly double the total cost of comparable combustion engine models. That cost gap is the primary bottleneck to scaling electrification further, even with strong municipal support.

What policy support does cambio need in order to further electrify its fleet?

Carsharing works best when stations are close to demand and clearly visible – so designated on-street spots are crucial. To electrify these prime locations, we need municipalities to back station electrification in public space. A strong reference is the “Bremen model”: the city provides and manages the core site infrastructure, while the carsharing operator installs its own wall boxes that integrate with its backend and can be removed or replaced if operators change. Without that kind of support, electrification becomes a slow, non-scaling exercise – chasing sites with the right legal setup, a willing landlord, and grid access, often far from where demand is. To ensure the drivetrain transition doesn’t undermine the broader transport transition, municipalities must enable carsharing charging infrastructure on public ground.

Further insights into the European car sharing market

Thank you, Paul, for sharing your expert insights.

For more information and interesting findings about European car sharing, we encourage readers to check out our 76-page INVERS Mobility Barometer on “European Car Sharing 2025” with more expert interviews as well as insights from national car sharing associations. To discover more from cambio, please visit their website.

Table of Contents

• 2025 Fleet size of European Car Sharing
• Fleet size growth YOY
• Top 5 car sharing markets in Europe
• Aggregated number of countries with car sharing in Europe
• Number of operators in European car sharing
• European car sharing trends

The European car sharing market is complex, featuring a diverse range of business models implemented on the streets. Operators employ various strategies, such as station-based services, free-floating services, and peer-to-peer car sharing to address distinct use cases and offer distinct services. In addition, the European car sharing market is one of the largest and the most varied in the world. Here are some of the top market facts from 2025:

2025 Fleet size of European Car Sharing

• The European combined station-based and free-floating car sharing fleet accumulates to 129,000 vehicles in total (transcontinental markets Turkey and Russia excluded).
• For the second time, Europe’s free-floating car sharing fleet was slightly larger than the station-based fleet, with an estimated 67,000 free-floating vehicles and 62,000 station-based vehicles on the continent.
• Key message: The European car sharing market is at an all-time high.

Fleet size growth YOY

• From 2024 to 2025, the European fleet size increased by 8% (free-floating + station-based combined).
• In 2025, free-floating car sharing operators provided 4,000 additional vehicles in comparison to the previous year.
• Furthermore, station-based car sharing operators provided 5,000 additional vehicles in 2025 in comparison to the previous year.
• Key message: Europe’s car sharing fleet is continuing to grow, and the station-based and free-floating models are equally important for that development.

Top 5 car sharing markets in Europe

• European Top 5: The largest five country markets in terms of combined station-based/free-floating fleet size are Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Among the Top 5, Belgium and Germany have the highest per-capita fleet size.
• Focus station-based car sharing: If we just look at station-based car sharing, the largest fleet sizes can be found in Germany, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, and Belgium.
• Focus free-floating car sharing: If we just look at free-floating car sharing, the largest fleet sizes can be found in Germany, Italy, Poland, Belgium, and Spain.
• Key message: Germany is Europe’s leading car sharing market. All Top 5 countries (free-floating and station-based fleets combined) can be found in Western Europe.

Aggregated number of countries with car sharing in Europe

• 42 European countries with car sharing (transcontinental markets Turkey and Russia excluded), including the business models free-floating, station-based and P2P car sharing.
• SB-only: 25 European countries with station-based services.
• FF-only: 28 European countries with free-floating services.
• P2P only: 29 European with P2P services.
• Key message: All three business models are widespread across Europe. 42 European countries have at least one active car sharing offer from free-floating, station-based or P2P car sharing.

Number of operators in European car sharing

• Station-based car sharing has the most diverse brand ecosystem with more than 470 station-based car sharing brands in Europe. Many of them have local roots and serve their communities with few vehicles.
• Free-floating car sharing is provided by up to 80 operators.
• Furthermore, more than 40 operators have a P2P service portfolio.
• Key message: Europe has the most diverse car sharing brand ecosystem globally. Hundreds of car sharing operators run their businesses here. Station-based car sharing has the most operators.

European car sharing trends

The past year saw many car sharing news and developments. Here are key trends that many industry stakeholders were talking about in 2025:

• Trend 1: Key stakeholders are calling for more support for electrification
• Trend 2: Operators focus on increasing profitability
• Trend 3: Further digitization of user and vehicle documents is on the rise
• Trend 4: Several car sharing operators are expanding service portfolios
• Trend 5: The car sharing industry is applying more AI use cases

You want to navigate the details? Download our full 76-page report and explore 9 country deep-dives, 7 full-page operator interviews, dozens of operator profiles, and many more KPIs and metrics on European Car Sharing. Download INVERS Mobility Barometer on European Car Sharing 2025.

Flotte! Der Branchentreff (25.-26. March 2026, Düsseldorf)

The well-established industry gathering Flotte! is inviting fleet managers and mobility decision-makers once again to its annual event. Prepare to meet over 340 European exhibitors, ranging from manufacturers and importers to leasing companies, and exchange knowledge during panel discussions, workshops, and one-to-one encounters.

Languages: German

Visit the Flotte! website

Wunder Mobility Meetup (26. March 2026, Hamburg)

Wunder Mobility is inviting the the car sharing industry to Hamburg: At the Wunder Mobility Meetup, CEOs and senior leaders from across the car sharing ecosystem will discuss and share their views on the future of car sharing. This year’s focus is on AVs and teleoperations. Together, attendees will explore questions such as where AVs and teleoperations create value today and how these technologies will transform fleet economics, operations and customer experience. Join the event to share knowledge with experts from Miles, Book-n-Drive, Vay and many more!

Language: English

Visit the Wunder Mobility Meetup landingpage

Shared Mobility Rocks (05. May 2026, Vienna)

Get ready for the most unconventional shared mobility event! Shared Mobility Rocks is back for its next edition in Vienna in 2026. This event is for anyone in the industry who really wants to shape the future of mobility with bold and innovative ideas. Meet public officials, mobility operators, advisors and researchers away from stuffy conferences and formal meetings and get started right away.

Languages: English & German (for selected sub-sessions only)

Visit the Shared Mobility Rocks website

MOQO Summit (05.-06. May 2026, Aachen)

For two days in May, the MOQO Summit will bring together leading shared-mobility experts from across the industry to explore the most pressing questions and challenges. Together, they will evaluate and develop innovative solutions that shape the future of shared mobility. The programme features inspiring presentations, interactive workshops, and plenty of opportunities to connect with experienced mobility experts.

Languages: German

Visit the MOQO Summit website

International Car Rental Show (13.-15. May 2026, Dallas)

The International Car Rental Show is an industry-leading event that every car rental and mobility professional should attend. 2026 marks the ICRS’s 30th anniversary, as well as three decades of experience in the mobility industry. The ICRS understands itself as a global hub with attendees from over 48 countries, making it the perfect place to exchange knowledge and get first-hand industry insights.

Language: English

Visit the ICRS website

Jahrestagung des bcs (25. June 2026, Düsseldorf)

The German car sharing association, Bundesverband Carsharing (bcs), is holding its annual event in Düsseldorf, Germany. For one day, representatives from across the German car sharing industry will come together to discuss leading trends and topics in the German market.

Language: German

Visit the bcs website

Atom Connect (30. September 2026, Riga)

ATOM Mobility, the experts in mobility platforms and digital solutions, together with INVERS are inviting shared mobility leaders to Riga for the second time to discuss car sharing in the digital age. The event will offer valuable industry insights and case studies, as well as plenty of networking opportunities.

Language: English

Visit ATOM Mobility website. More information coming soon.

Car Sharing Association (CSA) Annual Conference (05.-06. October 2026, Vancouver)

The CSA’s bi-annual conference is where carsharing operators go for practical sessions, honest conversations, and networking opportunities to swap ideas, stories, and lessons learned. The event is also attended by policy makers and public servants, car sharing technology and platform providers, and many others working in the car-sharing eco-system. This year, INVERS will celebrate its 20 years in North America together with the carsharing community at the CSA conference, held in the same city that’s home to our regional office.

Language: English

Visit the CSA Conference website, tickets coming soon.

Car Rental Technology Forum (CRTF) (02. November 2026, London)

The CRTF is the first event of its kind to focus entirely on car rental technology. In 2026, tech providers and car rental companies will share and discuss their knowledge on the use of AI in the car rental experience, real-time forecasting and demand, how technology can speed up the check-in process, as well as other current technology topics to prepare for the change in a digital era.

Language: English

Visit the CRTF website

Tomorrow. Mobility World Congress (03.-05. November 2026, Barcelona)

The Tomorrow.Mobility World Congress is a leading platform, connecting experts from all fields of the mobility sector. Executives, government leaders, researchers, entrepreneurs, and technical experts are joining in to exchange knowledge, and share innovation for a greener and more sustainable future. The congress agenda is packed with inspiring speakers and a wide range of interesting panels and breakout sessions.

Language: English

Visit the TMWC26 website

Other Mobility Events in 2026

You want more? Here are further mobility conferences, meet-ups and exhibitions you might want to add to your calendar:

• Intertraffic (10.-12. March 2026, Amsterdam, Netherlands)
• Autonomy European AV Summit (18.-19. March 2026, London, UK)
• The Shared Transport Conference (25. March 2026, London, UK)
• UITP Summit (21.-23. April 2026, Dubai, UAE)
• ITS European Congress (27.-29. April 2026, Istanbul)
• Corporate Mobility Conference (CMxC) (12. May 2026, Munich, Germany)
• Next Mobility Exhibition (13.-16. May 2026, Fieramilano, Italy)
• European Mobility Expo (EuMo) (09.-11. June 2026, Paris, France)
• ITS America (09.-12. June 2026, Detroit, USA)
• MOVE (17.-18. June 2026, London)
• Automotive Europe (30. June – 01. July 2026, Frankfurt)
• NASUF – National Alliance State and University Fleets (21.-24. September 2026, Indianapolis, USA)
• Mobility Live Australia (14.-15. October 2026, Sydney, Australia)
• Fleet Forward (20.-22. October 2026, Maryland, USA)
• wtm London (03.-05. November 2026, London, UK)

The INVERS team is looking forward to meeting you in person at some events mentioned above! Let’s exchange ideas and perspectives on mobility’s future.

The European car sharing market is complex, featuring a diverse range of business models implemented on the streets. Operators employ various strategies, such as station-based services, peer-to-peer car sharing, and free-floating services, to address different use cases with distinct service. In addition, the European car sharing market is one of the largest and the most complex in the world. To address and explain some of these complexities, INVERS publishes their INVERS Mobility Barometer on “European Car Sharing 2025”. This 76-page report helps car sharing operators quickly understand key market dynamics, insights, and trends.

Table of Contents

• Growth enablers
• Fleet electrification
• Partnering with cities and municipalities
• What makes a great car sharing station?

How has Stadtmobil Stuttgart enabled its growth over the past few years?

Stadtmobil Stuttgart has had a good run thanks to its close collaboration with the city of Stuttgart and bordering municipalities, that have utilized public parking space tenders. The car sharing law has played a significant role in ensuring that we can maintain visible and easily accessible parking spaces. To expand our business, we rely on good parking spaces, especially in the city centers, as this is the limiting factor. With the help of our affiliate StadtMobil e.V., which focuses on specific rural areas around Stuttgart, we have also experienced considerable growth in the surrounding areas. It is important to us that we always maintain a good balance between availability and utilization. Only then is car sharing profitable for us and attractive for our customers.

The European car sharing fleet is much more electrified than the privately owned car fleet. What needs to be done to accelerate the electrification of car sharing even further?

Cities must help provide suitable infrastructure, as we as car sharing providers can only do so to a limited extent. Higher vehicle acquisition costs, expensive charging infrastructure, and the prevalent customer reluctance to embrace the new technology are hindering the proportion of fully electric vehicles in our fleet.

How do you work with cities and governments? How would you describe your relationship with city administrations and regional partners?

The cooperation, especially with the city of Stuttgart, is excellent. This enables us to provide suitable public parking stations for our customers in Stuttgart’s city center. Our suggestions are listened to and largely incorporated into the city’s planning process. We are grateful for this, as this is not something to be taken for granted. Of course, things are also going well with other cities, but decisions often take a long time because, unfortunately, there is still no standardized approach, and the processes must be developed first. We believe that car sharing standardizations or respective guidelines for cities and municipalities would be highly desirable for all partners.

What makes a great car sharing station? What data can you use to choose the best spots?

An optimal car sharing station should be well connected to public transport. This makes it easy for our customers to transfer from bus or train to a car sharing vehicle. It should also be above ground and signposted, so it’s clear and easily visible that a service is available locally, even if there aren’t any cars. The more densely populated the area and the better the public transport system, the higher the likelihood that the location will be well-received. Furthermore, several vehicles should always be located at a station to present an attractive service with a variety of choices and sufficient availability. Having just one vehicle is often a deterrent. Therefore, we always strive to set up several vehicles at any promising location as soon as possible.

Further insights into the European car sharing market

Thank you, Hermann, for sharing your expert insights.

For more information and interesting findings about European car sharing, we encourage readers to check out our 76-page INVERS Mobility Barometer on “European Car Sharing 2025” with more expert interviews as well as insights from national car sharing associations. To discover more from Stadtmobil Stuttgart, please visit their website.