Car2Go

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
car2go
Type Public (subsidiary)
Industry Car rental
Founded 2008 (2008)
Headquarters Ulm, Germany
Number of locations See Cities
Services Carsharing
Parent Daimler AG
Website http://www.car2go.com

Car2go is a subsidiary of Daimler AG that provides carsharing services in European and North American cities. The company offers exclusively Smart Fortwo "car2go edition" vehicles and features one-way point-to-point rentals, which are charged by the minute (with hourly and daily rates available).[1] The service forgoes the typical centralized rental office, and cars are user-accessed wherever parked via a downloadable smartphone app.[citation needed]

History

Daimler pioneered the service in Ulm, Germany in October 2008,[2] where it was developed by one of its internal business innovation units and was first tested exclusively by Daimler employees.[3] As of October 2013, car2go operates over 9,000 vehicles, which serve eight countries and 25 cities worldwide with over 500,000 customers.[4][5][6]

Cities

The following table details all cities where car2go operates as of November 2013:

Car2go member card reader that allows access to the vehicle
Car2go cars in Austin, Texas
City Country Vehicles Type Start date Ref.
Ulm Germany 300 Gasoline & Electric October 2008 [7][8]
Austin U.S. 300 Gasoline & Electric May 2010 [9]
Düsseldorf Germany 300 Gasoline February 2011 [10]
Hamburg Germany 700 Gasoline April 2011 [11]
Vancouver Canada 575 Gasoline & Electric June 2011 [12][13][14]
San Diego U.S. 300 Electric November 2011[15]
Amsterdam Netherlands 300 Electric November 2011 [16]
Vienna Austria 600 Gasoline December 2011 [17]
Lyon France suspended Gasoline February 2012 [18]
Washington, D.C. U.S. 400 Gasoline March 2012 [19]
Portland, Oregon U.S. 300 Gasoline & Electric March 2012 [20]
Berlin Germany 1,200 Gasoline April 2012 [21]
Toronto Canada 375 Gasoline June 2012 [22]
Calgary Canada 400 Gasoline July 2012 [23]
Miami U.S. 240 Gasoline July 2012 [24]
Cologne Germany 350 Gasoline September 2012 [25]
Stuttgart Germany 300 Electric November 2012 [26]
London United Kingdom 500 Gasoline December 2012 [27]
Seattle U.S. 500 Gasoline December 2012 [28]
Birmingham United Kingdom 250 Gasoline May 2013 [29]
South Bay, Los Angeles U.S. 350 Gasoline tba [30]
Minneapolis U.S. 300 Gasoline September 2013 [31]
Columbus U.S. 250 Gasoline October 2013
Denver U.S. 300 Gasoline June 2013 [32]
Munich Germany 300 Gasoline June 2013 [11]
Milan Italy 600 Gasoline August 2013 [33]
Montreal Canada 250 Gasoline November 2013 [34][35]
Rome Italy ? ? 2014 [36]

Business model

The car2go 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.[37] 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, car2go vehicles can park in either specially designated parking spots, or in standard parking areas, with a special permit from the local municipality.[38]

Vehicles

Two car2Go Smart electric drive cars charging at the Herengracht in Amsterdam.

Car2go operates 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 power moonroof and power side mirrors (piloted in some markets such as Vancouver);[39] and "new" featuring a standard roof. Electric car2go 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.[citation needed]

Apps

First-party and third-party apps for mobile devices allow users to locate and reserve vehicles.[40] 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. Customers can choose to refuel a vehicle to gain free usage minutes.[citation needed]

See also

  • Car Sharing

References

  1. ↑ Stephanie Steinberg and Bill Vlasic (2013-01-25). "Car-Sharing Services Grow, and Expand Options". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-01-26. 
  2. ↑ "Daimler's car2go: Rent a Smart anywhere, anytime". Autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-12-21. 
  3. ↑ Jeremy Korzeniewski (2008-10-21). "Daimler's car2go: Rent a Smart anywhere, anytime". Autoblog. 
  4. ↑ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/aug/22/on-street-car-hire
  5. ↑ http://www.hybridcars.com/columbus-welcoming-car2go-this-month/
  6. ↑ http://www.wantedinrome.com/news/2002694/car2go-comes-to-rome.html
  7. ↑ "In depth: Daimler's Car2Go program is simple, amazing, but not perfect". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  8. ↑ "eSmart III Production Commences". Fleets and Fuels.com. 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  9. ↑ "UPDATE: car2go car sharing program goes public in Austin, Texas". Gizmag.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  10. ↑ "smart News » Düsseldorf’s ready for car2go". News.thesmart.co.uk.s112875.gridserver.com. 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 http://www.daimler.com/technology-and-innovation/mobility-concepts/car2go/
  12. ↑ "car2go Canada Ltd. | car2go Poised For Growth in Vancouver This Spring". Newswire.ca. 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  13. ↑ "December Newsletter: Vancouver". car2go. 2012-12-21. 
  14. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/car2go.vancouver
  15. ↑ "Car2go scoops up 6,000 electric car sharers in San Diego in first 100 days". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  16. ↑ "Car2go: a case study for electric carsharing | EV Update". Analysis.evupdate.com. 2012-06-05. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  17. ↑ "Car2Go starts in Vienna with contactless technology made in Austria. | NFC Development & Consulting". Nfc.cc. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  18. ↑ "Car2go suspends operation in Lyon, France because of name conflict with Car' Go". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  19. ↑ "Daimler's car2go car-sharing service starts in D.C., Portland this month". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  20. ↑ "Portland's Car2go carsharing service starting off well, going electric soon". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  21. ↑ "World's largest Car2Go fleet deployed in Berlin". Green.autoblog.com. 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  22. ↑ "Car2go launches short-term car rentals in Toronto, joining Zipcar, Autoshare, even taxis in moving market". thestar.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  23. ↑ "On The Road: No slowing down for car2go in Calgary". Calgaryherald.com. 2013-07-25. Retrieved 2013-08-22. 
  24. ↑ "Car2go opens in Miami today, but there's an unfortunate payment twist". Green.autoblog.com. 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  25. ↑ "car2go Expands to Cologne, Germany - Rental Operations". Auto Rental News. 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  26. ↑ "smart News » Stuttgart says ‘guten tag!’ to car2go". News.thesmart.co.uk.s112875.gridserver.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  27. ↑ "Reif für die Insel: car2go bringt smart(e) Mobilität nach London | Daimler Global Media Site > Mercedes-Benz Cars > smart > car2go". Media.daimler.com. Retrieved 2012-12-21. 
  28. ↑ "car2go Introduces a New Way of Carsharing in Seattle, Washington". Retrieved 21 December 2012. 
  29. ↑ "Daimler's car2go car-sharing service will launch in UK this fall". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  30. ↑ "Car Sharing company Car2go prepares to roll into the South Bay area". 2urbangirls. 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2012-11-26. 
  31. ↑ http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/car2go-Introduces-Carsharing-in-Minneapolis-20130827/
  32. ↑ http://green.autoblog.com/2013/05/31/car2go-comes-to-denver-with-300-smart-fortwo-car-share-vehicles/
  33. ↑ "Car2go inizia il suo viaggio: così raddoppia il car-sharing". la Repubblica Milano. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2013. 
  34. ↑ "Auto en libre service: car2go arrive à Montréal". Retrieved 2013-10-04. 
  35. ↑ "Media Advisory - Launch of car2go in Montreal". 2013-10-04. 
  36. ↑ "Car 2go comes to Rome". Retrieved 2013-11-03. 
  37. ↑ https://www.car2go.com/en/vancouver/what-does-car2go-cost/#tab_22
  38. ↑ https://www.car2go.com/en/vancouver/#tab_264
  39. ↑ "Skylight in a car2go | Flickr - Photo Sharing!". Flickr. 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2012-12-21. 
  40. ↑ https://www.car2go.com/en/austin/car2go-apps/

External links

Vehicle rental brands
Car Rental
Car Sharing
Recreational Vehicles
Truck Rental
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