Share Now Explained

Share Now GmbH
Type:Subsidiary
Location City:Berlin
Location Country:Germany
Locations:16
Industry:Car rental
Services:Carsharing
Owner:Stellantis
Parent:Free2Move

Share Now GmbH is a German carsharing company, formed from the merger of Car2Go and DriveNow. Since 2022, it is a subsidiary of the Free2Move division of multinational automaker Stellantis providing carsharing services in urban areas in Europe, and formerly in North America. It has over four million registered members and a fleet of over 14,000 vehicles in 18 cities across Europe.[1] [2]

The company offered only Smart, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Mini, Fiat and Citroën vehicles during the period when it was jointly owned by BMW and Mercedes-Benz and arranged one-way point-to-point rentals.[3] Users were charged by the minute, or by hourly and daily rates.[4] A smartphone app was used to enable hirers to access the vehicle.

Stellantis acquired ShareNow in July 2022 via its Free2Move subsidiary.

History

Daimler introduced the service in Ulm, Germany, in October 2008,[5] where it was developed by one of its internal business innovation units and was first tested exclusively by Daimler employees.[6]

Starting in May 2015, car2go added a $1 'Driver Protection Fee' for each ride to offset the lowered deductible.[7]

Since inception, car2go withdrew from several locations, including Britain, where it closed its service in London and Birmingham after only a year of operation.[8] Because of a lack of charging stations, car2go in San Diego, California, replaced its all-electric vehicle fleet with gasoline-powered cars starting on 1 May 2016. When the service started in 2011, car2go expected 1,000 charging stations to be deployed around the city, but only 400 were in place by early 2016. As a result, an average of 20% of the carsharing fleet is unavailable at any given time because the cars are either being charged or do not have enough charge to be driven.[9] At the end of 2016 car2go left the San Diego market.[10]

In January 2018, Daimler and BMW appeared to prepare the merger of their carsharing subsidiaries to strengthen their market position.[11] On March 1, 2018, Daimler announced that its subsidiary Daimler Mobility Services had acquired the 25% stake of minority shareholder Europcar Group for an undisclosed amount to now hold 100% of car2go's European subsidiary. The new combined company is called ShareNow.[12]

Downsizing

In late 2019, the company announced that it would close all North American operations (New York City NY, Seattle WA, and Washington DC in the United States; Montreal QC, and Vancouver BC in Canada) on 29 February 2020 because of excessive competition, increasing costs of operation and its limited infrastructure for supporting electric vehicles. Service in London, Brussels and Florence would also cease because of inadequate usage. That would leave ShareNow with operations in 18 cities in Europe, locations that "show the greatest potential for profitable growth and mobility innovation", according to the company.[13] [14]

Acquired by Stellantis

On 3 May 2022, the acquisition of Share Now by the automobile manufacturer Stellantis was announced.[15] [16] The acquisition was closed on 18 July 2022 and Stellantis subsidiary Free2Move handles the Share Now ownership.[17]

Locations

Current

The following table details all locations where ShareNow is active:

indicates electric fleet

City Country FleetStart date
Netherlands 300
Germany 1,800
Denmark500
Düsseldorf/CologneGermany 1,100
FrankfurtGermany 300
Germany 1,100
Spain 600
MilanItaly 1,400
Germany 1,000
Germany
France700
RomeItaly 600
StuttgartGermany 350
TurinItaly 350
ViennaAustria 1,000

Former

The following table details all locations where Share Now is no longer active :

City/
Municipality
Country Start date End date class=unsortableReference
Germany [18] [19]
France [20]
United Kingdom [21]
United Kingdom [22]
United States [23]
United States [24]
Denmark [25]
United States [26]
StockholmSweden[27]
Minneapolis-Saint PaulUnited States[28]
San DiegoUnited States[29]
Canada[30]
United States
China [31]
United States October 2019 [32]
Canada October 2019
United States October 2019
United States October 2019
United States December 2019
Canada February 2020
United States February 2020
United States February 2020
Canada February 2020
Italy February 2020
United States February 2020
HelsinkiFinlandMarch 2020[33]
LisbonPortugalMarch 2020
Hungary October 2023

Fleet

Model
BMW1 Series2 series2 Series Active Toureri3X1X2
CitroënC3
Fiat500New 500500x
HyundaiIoniq 5
Mercedes-BenzA-ClassCLA CoupeCLA ShootingbrakeE-ClassGLAGLBGLC Coupé
MINICooperCountrymanClubman
Opel[34] CorsaAstraCrossland
Peugeot2082008[35] 3083008
RenaultZOE
ŠkodaOctavia
smartfortwofortwo EQforfour

Business model

The Share Now business model is similar in all markets, although rates vary by location. The company charges a per minute rate, with discounted fixed rates for hourly and daily usage also available and applied automatically. The rates are all-inclusive and cover rental, gas, insurance, parking (in authorized areas), and maintenance, a low fixed annual fee is sometimes also charged. In most markets, Share Now vehicles can park in either specially designated parking spots, or in standard parking areas, with a special permit from the local municipality. Users have the option of refueling cars with a supplied charge card, customers receive bonus minutes for performing this service.

Vehicles

In most cities, Share Now offers only two-passenger vehicles, namely two types of Smart Fortwo "car2go edition" vehicles: gasoline-powered, and electric-powered. The gasoline-powered cars can be found in three variants based on roof configuration: "original" with integrated solar panel roof; "upgraded" with a panoramic polycarbonate roof and power side mirrors; and "new" featuring a standard roof. Electric Share Now models are currently available in several markets, have a range of, and need to be recharged every two or three days.

Apps

First-party and third-party apps for mobile devices allow users to locate and reserve vehicles. When reserving a car online, the customers are able to see the car's fuel gauge (gasoline-powered cars) or the battery's state of charge (electric-powered cars), so if the customer wants to go for an extended drive, they can find the right car for that trip.

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Yandex to offer car-sharing in Europe as rivals pull out . Financial Times. 13 January 2020 . Seddon . Max .
  2. Web site: Brand Hub SHARE NOW. brandhub.share-now.com. 2019-11-14.
  3. Web site: Now New Yorkers can get a new Mercedes-Benz for 47 cents (a minute). CNBC. Michael Sheetz. 5 December 2017 . 30 August 2018.
  4. News: Car-Sharing Services Grow, and Expand Options. Stephanie Steinberg and Bill Vlasic. The New York Times. 25 January 2013. 26 January 2013.
  5. Web site: Daimler's car2go: Rent a Smart anywhere, anytime . Autoblog.com . 21 December 2012.
  6. Web site: Daimler's car2go: Rent a Smart anywhere, anytime . Autoblog. Jeremy Korzeniewski. 21 October 2008.
  7. Web site: Car2go adds $1 'Driver Protection Fee' for each ride to offset lowered deductible - GeekWire. Taylor Soper. GeekWire.
  8. Web site: Griffin. Jon. Car2go scrapped a year after setting up in Birmingham. Birmingham Mail. 23 January 2015. 23 May 2014.
  9. News: Car2Go switching electric cars to gas . David . Garrick . . 16 March 2016 . 25 March 2016.
  10. Web site: Car2go ceases San Diego operations. David. Garrick. sandiegouniontribune.com. 31 December 2016 . 22 April 2018.
  11. News: BMW and Daimler close to merging car-sharing units: executive. 23 January 2018. Reuters. 25 January 2018.
  12. News: Daimler Mobility Services purchases Europcar Group's 25% stake in car2go Europe GmbH. 1 March 2018. Daimler. 10 March 2018.
  13. Web site: Hundreds of thousands of Car2Go members to lose service as company pulls out of North America . 18 December 2019 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . 19 December 2019 .
  14. Web site: Share Now, formerly Car2Go, is leaving North America . 18 December 2019 . The Verge . 19 December 2019 .
  15. Web site: Share Now: BMW und Mercedes verkaufen Carsharing an Stellantis. https://web.archive.org/web/20220503115520/https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/industrie/share-now-abschied-vom-carsharing-warum-bmw-und-mercedes-share-now-an-stellantis-verkaufen/28297794.html . 2022-05-03 . 2022-05-03. 2022-05-03.
  16. Web site: Share Now: Stellantis übernimmt Carsharing von BMW und Mercedes - manager magazin. https://web.archive.org/web/20220503120434/https://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/share-now-stellantis-uebernimmt-carsharing-von-bmw-und-mercedes-a-fc7d175a-df79-438f-8aa6-6e6a3c59af6c . 2022-05-03 . 2022-05-03. 2022-05-03.
  17. News: Free2move Becomes a World Leader in Mobility with Acquisition of Share Now. Stellantis. 2022-07-18. 2022-11-05.
  18. Web site: In depth: Daimler's Car2Go program is simple, amazing, but not perfect . Green.autoblog.com . 26 November 2012.
  19. Web site: eSmart III Production Commences . Fleets and Fuels.com . 19 June 2012 . 26 November 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120628205938/http://www.fleetsandfuels.com/fuels/evs/2012/06/esmart-iii-production-commences/# . 28 June 2012 . dead . dmy-all .
  20. Web site: Car2go suspends operation in Lyon, France because of name conflict with Car' Go . Green.autoblog.com . 26 November 2012.
  21. Web site: Reif für die Insel: car2go bringt smart(e) Mobilität nach London | Daimler Global Media Site > Mercedes-Benz Cars > smart > car2go . Media.daimler.com . 21 December 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224623/http://media.daimler.com/dcmedia/0-921-1193661-49-1556287-1-0-0-0-0-1-11701-854934-0-1-0-0-0-0-0.html?TS=1354647463058# . 17 December 2013 . dead . dmy-all .
  22. Web site: Daimler's car2go car-sharing service will launch in UK this fall . Green.autoblog.com . 26 November 2012.
  23. Web site: Car2go car-sharing service to suspend South Bay operations. 4 May 2015 .
  24. Web site: car2go Bailing out of Eugene. 24 June 2015 .
  25. Web site: Car2go shutting down in Copenhagen.
  26. Web site: Car2Go suspending business indefinitely in Miami, Miami Beach. miamiherald.
  27. News: Stockholms parkeringselände sätter P - Car2go lämnar Sverige. Veckans affärer. 17 February 2017.
  28. News: car2go Twin Cities on Twitter. Twitter. 17 February 2017. en.
  29. News: car2go San Diego on Twitter. Twitter. 17 February 2017. en.
  30. News: Important Update. 2018-06-01. news.car2go.com. en.
  31. Web site: Daimler Gives Up on Car-Sharing in China - Caixin Global. www.caixinglobal.com. en. 2019-08-21.
  32. Web site: Cole . Craig . Car2Go-ing, going, gone! Service pulls out of five North American cities . Roadshow . 25 October 2019 . en.
  33. Web site: Sousa. Jéssica. 2020-03-03. DriveNow. Carsharing service changes name and closes operations in Lisbon. 2021-03-26. O Jornal Económico. en.
  34. Web site: Opel wird Teil der SHARE NOW Flotte: Neue Modelle für individuelle Mobilitätserlebnisse .
  35. Web site: Carsharing Flotte - Alle Autos im Überblick | SHARE NOW .