Miles, Free Now, Flinkster, Share Now or Cambio: most people living in Germany will have noticed more of these car-sharing company vehicles parked on the streets outside their houses over recent years. Now, new data has revealed that the squashed-together Denglisch phenomenon of “Carsharing” is only becoming more popular in the federal republic as the years go on.
An environmentally friendlier version of owning a private car, car sharing has been around for decades in Germany. But with the further development of app-based services in recent years, more Germans are dropping the dream of car ownership and turning to large car-sharing start-ups rather than more local car hire companies.
Across the federal republic, almost 4,5 million people are now registered with car-sharing apps, 30 percent more than just a year ago.
Though car-sharing companies cannot tell how many people actively use their apps, they do know that the majority of registrants don’t own a car themselves.
Speaking to rbb, CEO of the federal association of car sharing, Gunnar Nehrke, explained that users don’t rent cars more than one to two times a month on average. “And that’s the way we want it. We don’t want to sell cars to people, we just want to make sure they have one available to them when they need it.”
Meike Niedbal, Berlin Mobility Secretary, also told rbb that she believes car sharing, in tandem with cycling, walking and using public transport, is a foundational component of the so-called Verkehrswende (transport revolution).
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