Share Now

Last updated

Share Now GmbH
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Car rental
Predecessors
Founded2019;5 years ago (2019)
Headquarters,
Germany
Number of locations
16
Services Carsharing
Owner Stellantis
Parent Free2Move
Website share-now.com

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]

Contents

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]

car2go car in Stuttgart Smart Fortwo EQ Car2goStuttgart IMG 0813.jpg
car2go car in Stuttgart

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: [2]

Bolt font awesome.svgindicates electric fleet

CityCountryFleetStart date
Amsterdam Bolt font awesome.svgNetherlands300Nov 2011
Berlin Germany1,800April 2012
Copenhagen Bolt font awesome.svgDenmark500Sep 2015
Düsseldorf/Cologne Germany1,100Jan 2012
Frankfurt Germany300Sep 2014
Hamburg Bolt font awesome.svgGermany1,100April 2011
Madrid Bolt font awesome.svgSpain600Nov 2015
Milan Italy1,400Aug 2013
Munich Bolt font awesome.svgGermany1,000June 2013
Münster Bolt font awesome.svgGermany
Paris Bolt font awesome.svgFrance700Jan 2019
Rome Italy600Mar 2014
Stuttgart Germany350Nov 2012
Turin Italy350Mar 2015
Vienna Austria1,000Dec 2011

Former

The following table details all locations where Share Now is no longer active as of July 2019:

City/
Municipality
CountryStart dateEnd dateReference
Ulm GermanyOctober 2008December 2014 [18] [19]
Lyon FranceFebruary 2012June 2012 [20]
London United KingdomDecember 2012May 2014 [21]
Birmingham United KingdomMay 2013May 2014 [22]
South Bay, Los Angeles United StatesJune 2014June 2015 [23]
Eugene, Oregon United StatesOctober 2014June 2015 [24]
Copenhagen DenmarkSeptember 2014January 2016 [25]
Miami United StatesJuly 2012February 2016 [26]
Stockholm SwedenNovember 2014September 2016 [27]
Minneapolis-Saint Paul United StatesSeptember 2013December 2016 [28]
San Diego United StatesNovember 2011December 2016 [29]
Toronto CanadaJune 2012June 2018 [30]
Columbus United StatesOctober 2013June 2018
Chongqing ChinaApril 2016June 2019 [31]
Austin United StatesMay 2010October 2019 [32]
Calgary CanadaJuly 2012October 2019 [32]
Denver United StatesJune 2013October 2019 [32]
Portland, Oregon United StatesMar 2012October 2019 [32]
Chicago United StatesJul 2018December 2019
Vancouver CanadaJun 2011February 2020
Washington, D.C. United StatesMar 2012February 2020
Seattle United StatesDec 2012February 2020
Montreal CanadaNov 2013February 2020
Florence ItalyJun 2014February 2020
New York City United StatesOct 2014February 2020
Helsinki FinlandMay 2017March 2020 [33]
Lisbon PortugalSep 2017March 2020 [33]
Budapest HungaryApril 2019October 2023

Fleet

The following models are active in the ShareNow fleet. [34] The selection of available vehicles varies depending on the location.

    Business model

    car2go member card reader that allows access to the vehicle Car2Go 04 2012 DC 3759.JPG
    car2go member card reader that allows access to the vehicle

    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

    Two car2go Smart electric drive cars charging at the Herengracht in Amsterdam Car2Go Amsterdam Smart ED cropped.JPG
    Two car2go Smart electric drive cars charging at the Herengracht in Amsterdam

    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.[ citation needed ] Electric Share Now models are currently available in several markets, have a range of 84 miles (135 km), 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

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