Amsterdam, January 18, 2022 – SHARE NOW, the European market leader in free-floating car-sharing, can look back on a successful year despite the pandemic. In 2021, the joint venture between BMW Group and Daimler AG gained 10,000 new users in Amsterdam, where the car-sharing service has been operating with a 100 percent electric fleet since 2011. The cities of Amstelveen and Rotterdam are also benefiting from the success of SHARE NOW’s service. With the launch of two hubs in Rotterdam, commuting between Amsterdam and Rotterdam is now easier with electric car-sharing.
Expansion of fleet and home area
"In 2021 we were able to respond even better to the demand and desire of our Dutch users," says Robert Bosman, Managing Director of SHARE NOW Netherlands. "In the capital we have expanded the offer of SHARE NOW in various areas. Last year over 100 shared cars were added to the fleet and the home area was expanded to 62 km2. Not only with new neighborhoods in Amsterdam's Noord and Nieuw-West districts, but also with two hubs in Rotterdam – something we are very proud of. Despite the Corona pandemic, we can look back on a successful year in which we strengthened our business," Bosman said.
Longer distances per rental
SHARE NOW has been noticing changes in user behavior for some time. In 2021, more kilometers were driven per trip and cars were rented for increasingly longer periods. In Amsterdam, the average distance increased by 12 percent to an average of 11.5 km per rental. The average rental duration increased by 4.4 percent to an average of 40 minutes per rental. To respond to the needs of its – now 104,000 – users, SHARE NOW introduced long-term car-sharing at the end of 2021. This makes it possible to rent a SHARE NOW car for up to 30 days and book it in advance.
Prior to this launch, in 2021 there was a huge investment in the range of electric shared cars. Gradually, new electric models with higher range such as the smart EQ, Fiat 500e and BMW i3 were added. In one year, the fleet expanded to 400 electric shared cars, allowing even longer distances to be covered. The smart EQ was the most popular model last year, but the BMW i3 proved to be used most often for longer trips.
Preview 2022
This year SHARE NOW wants to continue the positive development of last year. "2021 was a special year for us in which we celebrated our 10th anniversary in Amsterdam, but also in 2022 we are not thinking about standing still. We will continue on the same course and continuously focus on sustainable growth," said Bosman. "We at SHARE NOW believe in sharing more and owning less, so that we can make our cities more livable for residents and keep mobility as individual and flexible as possible. A close collaboration with municipalities in which SHARE NOW is active helps us to boost emission-free mobility and shared transport."