Car2Go

Car2Go
Public (subsidiary)
Industry Car rental
Founded 2008
Headquarters Ulm, Germany
Number of locations
 31
Services Carsharing
Parent Daimler AG
Website http://www.car2go.com

Car2Go is a subsidiary of Daimler AG providing carsharing services in European and North American cities. The company offers exclusively Smart Fortwo vehicles and features one-way point-to-point rentals. Users 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.

History

Daimler introduced 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]

In May 2014, Car2Go withdrew from Britain, closing its service in London and Birmingham after only a year of operation.[4]

As of March 2015, Car2Go operates over 13,000 vehicles, which serve eight countries and 29 cities worldwide with over 1,000,000 customers.[5]

Locations

Current

The following table details all locations where Car2Go is active as of February 2015:

Car2Go member card reader that allows access to the vehicle
Car2Go cars in Austin, Texas
City/
Municipality 		Country Vehicles Type Start date Reference
Austin U.S. 300 Gasoline & Electric May 2010 [6]
Düsseldorf Germany 300 Gasoline February 2011 [7]
Hamburg Germany 700 Gasoline April 2011 [8]
Vancouver Canada 750 Gasoline & Electric June 2011 [9][10][11]
San Diego U.S. 400 Electric November 2011[12]
Amsterdam Netherlands 300 Electric November 2011 [13]
Vienna Austria 800 Gasoline December 2011 [14][15]
Washington, D.C. U.S. 400 Gasoline March 2012 [16]
Portland, Oregon U.S. 530 Gasoline & Electric March 2012 [17]
Berlin Germany 1,200 Gasoline & Electric April 2012 [18]
Toronto Canada 375 Gasoline June 2012 [19]
Calgary Canada 550 Gasoline July 2012 [20]
Miami U.S. 240 Gasoline July 2012 [21]
Cologne Germany 350 Gasoline September 2012 [22]
Stuttgart Germany 500 Electric November 2012 [23][24]
Seattle U.S. 750 Gasoline December 2012 [25][26]
South Bay, Los Angeles U.S. 150 Gasoline June 2014[27][28]
Minneapolis–Saint Paul U.S. 535 Gasoline September 2013 [29][30]
Columbus U.S. 300 Gasoline October 2013 [31]
Denver U.S. 400 Gasoline June 2013 [32][33]
Munich Germany 300 Gasoline June 2013 [8]
Milan Italy 700 Gasoline August 2013 [34]
Montreal Canada 340 Gasoline November 2013 [35][36]
Rome Italy 600 Gasoline March 2014 [37][38]
Florence Italy 200 Gasoline May 2014 [39]
Frankfurt Germany 250 Gasoline September 2014
Copenhagen Denmark 200 Gasoline September 2014 [40]
Brooklyn U.S. 450 Gasoline October 2014 [41]
Eugene U.S. 50 Gasoline October 2014 [42]
Stockholm Sweden 250 Gasoline November 2014
Chongqing China 2015 [43]
Honolulu U.S. 2015 [44]
Turin Italy 100 Gasoline March 2015 [45]

Former

The following table details all locations where Car2Go is no longer active as of February 2015:

City/
Municipality 		Country Start date End date Reference
Ulm Germany October 2008 December 2014 [46][47]
Lyon France February 2012 June 2012 [48]
London United Kingdom December 2012 May 2014 [49]
Birmingham United Kingdom May 2013 May 2014 [50]

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.[51] 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.[52]

Vehicles

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

Car2Go offers exclusively two passenger vehicles. Their fleet 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 panoramic polycarbonate roof and power side mirrors; 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.[53]

Apps

First-party and third-party apps for mobile devices allow users to locate and reserve vehicles.[54] 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.[55]

See also

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. ↑ Griffin, Jon (23 May 2014). "Car2go scrapped a year after setting up in Birmingham". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Nick Gibbs. "Car2Go poised to top 1-million users". Automotive News.
  6. ↑ "UPDATE: car2go car sharing program goes public in Austin, Texas". Gizmag.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  7. ↑ "smart News » Düsseldorf’s ready for car2go". News.thesmart.co.uk.s112875.gridserver.com. 2012-02-13. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 http://www.daimler.com/technology-and-innovation/mobility-concepts/car2go/[]
  9. ↑ "car2go Canada Ltd. | car2go Poised For Growth in Vancouver This Spring". Newswire.ca. 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  10. ↑ "December Newsletter: Vancouver". car2go. 2012-12-21.
  11. ↑ "car2go". Facebook.
  12. ↑ "Car-Sharing car2go Brings New Electric Fleet to San Diego". Times of San Diego.
  13. ↑ "Car2go: a case study for electric carsharing | EV Update". Analysis.evupdate.com. 2012-06-05. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  14. ↑ "Car2Go starts in Vienna with contactless technology made in Austria. | NFC Development & Consulting". Nfc.cc. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  15. ↑ "Car sharing options growing fast in Vienna". 2014-07-11.
  16. ↑ "Daimler's car2go car-sharing service starts in D.C., Portland this month". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  17. ↑ Lizzy Duffy. "First Car2Go Bike Rack Spotted In Portland". opb.org.
  18. ↑ "World's largest Car2Go fleet deployed in Berlin". Green.autoblog.com. 2012-04-30. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  19. ↑ "Car2go launches short-term car rentals in Toronto, joining Zipcar, Autoshare, even taxis in moving market". thestar.com. 2012-06-13. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  20. ↑ "On The Road: No slowing down for car2go in Calgary". Calgaryherald.com. 2013-07-25. Retrieved 2013-08-22.
  21. ↑ "Car2go opens in Miami today, but there's an unfortunate payment twist". Green.autoblog.com. 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  22. ↑ "car2go Expands to Cologne, Germany - Rental Operations". Auto Rental News. 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  23. ↑ "smart News » Stuttgart says ‘guten tag!’ to car2go". News.thesmart.co.uk.s112875.gridserver.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  24. ↑ "Stromautos auch bald im Strohgäu". stuttgarter-zeitung.de. Retrieved 2014-04-06.
  25. ↑ "car2go Introduces a New Way of Carsharing in Seattle, Washington". Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  26. ↑ "car2go-seattle-expansion". Retrieved March 2015.
  27. ↑ "Daimler's Car2go carsharing service expands to Los Angeles". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  28. ↑ "Car2Go launches car-sharing service in South Bay". www.latimes.com. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  29. ↑ http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/car2go-Introduces-Carsharing-in-Minneapolis-20130827/[]
  30. ↑ car2go N.A. LLC (8 January 2015). "car2go Kicks Off 2015 With A Bang With Over 20,000 car2go... -- TWIN CITIES, Minn., Jan. 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --". prnewswire.com.
  31. ↑ "car2go Brings Point-to-Point Carsharing to Ohio". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2014-07-09.
  32. ↑ Danny King. "Car2go comes to Denver with 300 Smart Fortwo car share vehicles". Autoblog.
  33. ↑ "Hello Denver". Car2Go. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
  34. ↑ "Milano, Car2go aumenta la flotta". Corriere della Sera. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
  35. ↑ "Auto en libre service: car2go arrive à Montréal". Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  36. ↑ "Media Advisory - Launch of car2go in Montreal". 2013-10-04.
  37. ↑ http://www.motorionline.com/2014/02/18/car2go-a-roma-il-car-sharing-smart-nella-capitale-entro-la-prossima-pasqua. Retrieved 2014-02-20. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  38. ↑ "Car sharing - A Roma Il Car2go Si Espande - Quattroruote". Quattroruote.it.
  39. ↑ "Hello Austin". car2go.com.
  40. ↑ "Car2go coming to Copenhagen". thelocal.dk.
  41. ↑ "Car2Go expands to Brooklyn". Washington Post.
  42. ↑ "Car2Go comes to Eugene: 'Walk up to a car, rent it, ride away'". KVAL 13.
  43. ↑ "Daimler's car sharing unit car2go expands to China with launch in Chongqing". http://www.asiaeu.com/''.
  44. ↑ "Aloha! Car2Go is headed to Honolulu - Fortune". Fortune.
  45. ↑ http://www.gazzetta.it/Passione-Motori/Auto/15-02-2015/car-sharing-car2go-torino-citta-black-classe-b-100899111424.shtml. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  46. ↑ "In depth: Daimler's Car2Go program is simple, amazing, but not perfect". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  47. ↑ "eSmart III Production Commences". Fleets and Fuels.com. 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  48. ↑ "Car2go suspends operation in Lyon, France because of name conflict with Car' Go". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  49. ↑ "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.
  50. ↑ "Daimler's car2go car-sharing service will launch in UK this fall". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2012-11-26.
  51. ↑ "Mobility for a reasonable price". car2go.com.
  52. ↑ "Hello Vancouver". car2go.com.
  53. ↑ "Hello Austin". car2go.com.
  54. ↑ "car2go Apps". car2go.com.
  55. ↑ "Just hop in". car2go.com.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Car2Go.