Share Now

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]

Share Now GmbH
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryCar rental
Predecessors
Founded2019 (2019)
Headquarters
Berlin
,
Germany
Number of locations
16
ServicesCarsharing
OwnerStellantis
ParentFree2Move
Websiteshare-now.com

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.

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] The original idea, "rent a car by minute, when and how long I want, where I am and where I go", was announced in Munich by the Galileo competition Master, VULOG. VULOG started the service in 2007 in Antibes, and discovered by a French consultant, working for Daimler.

Starting in May 2015, car2go added a $1 'Driver Protection Fee' for each ride to offset the lowered deductible.[7]

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]

indicates electric fleet

CityCountryFleetStart date
Amsterdam Netherlands300Nov 2011
BerlinGermany1,800April 2012
Budapest Hungary 240 April 2019
Copenhagen Denmark 500 Sep 2015
Düsseldorf/CologneGermany1,100Jan 2012
FrankfurtGermany300Sep 2014
Hamburg Germany1,100April 2011
Madrid Spain600 Nov 2015
MilanItaly1,400 Aug 2013
Munich Germany1,000June 2013
Münster Germany
Paris France 700 Jan 2019
RomeItaly600 Mar 2014
StuttgartGermany350Nov 2012
TurinItaly350 Mar 2015
ViennaAustria1,000Dec 2011

Former

The following table details all locations where Share Now is no longer active as of July 2019:

City/
Municipality		CountryStart dateEnd dateReference
UlmGermanyOctober 2008December 2014[18][19]
LyonFranceFebruary 2012June 2012[20]
LondonUnited KingdomDecember 2012May 2014[21]
BirminghamUnited KingdomMay 2013May 2014[22]
South Bay, Los AngelesUnited StatesJune 2014June 2015[23]
Eugene, OregonUnited StatesOctober 2014June 2015[24]
CopenhagenDenmarkSeptember 2014January 2016[25]
MiamiUnited StatesJuly 2012February 2016[26]
StockholmSwedenNovember 2014September 2016[27]
Minneapolis-Saint PaulUnited StatesSeptember 2013December 2016[28]
San DiegoUnited StatesNovember 2011December 2016[29]
TorontoCanadaJune 2012June 2018[30]
ColumbusUnited StatesOctober 2013June 2018
ChongqingChinaApril 2016June 2019[31]
AustinUnited StatesMay 2010October 2019[32]
CalgaryCanadaJuly 2012October 2019[32]
DenverUnited StatesJune 2013October 2019[32]
Portland, OregonUnited StatesMar 2012October 2019[32]
ChicagoUnited StatesJul 2018December 2019
VancouverCanadaJun 2011February 2020
Washington, D.C.United StatesMar 2012February 2020
SeattleUnited StatesDec 2012February 2020
MontrealCanadaNov 2013February 2020
FlorenceItalyJun 2014February 2020
New York CityUnited StatesOct 2014February 2020
Helsinki Finland May 2017 March 2020 [33]
Lisbon Portugal Sep 2017 March 2020 [33]

Fleet
The following table details all models that are active in the ShareNow fleet: [34]The selection of available vehicles varies depending on the location.
Company Model
BMW 1 Series 2 series 2 Series Active Tourer i3 X1 X2
Citroën C3
Fiat 500 New 500 500x
Hyundai Ioniq 5
Mercedes-Benz A-Class CLA Coupe CLA Shootingbrake E-Class GLA GLB GLC Coupé
MINI Cooper Countryman Clubman
Opel[35] Corsa Astra Crossland
Peugeot 208 2008[36] 308 3008
Renault ZOE
Škoda Octavia
smart fortwo fortwo EQ forfour

    Business model
    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

    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. 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

    References
    1. Seddon, Max (13 January 2020). "Yandex to offer car-sharing in Europe as rivals pull out". Financial Times.
    2. "Brand Hub | SHARE NOW". brandhub.share-now.com. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
    3. Michael Sheetz (5 December 2017). "Now New Yorkers can get a new Mercedes-Benz for 47 cents (a minute)". CNBC. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
    4. Stephanie Steinberg and Bill Vlasic (25 January 2013). "Car-Sharing Services Grow, and Expand Options". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
    5. "Daimler's car2go: Rent a Smart anywhere, anytime". Autoblog.com. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
    6. Jeremy Korzeniewski (21 October 2008). "Daimler's car2go: Rent a Smart anywhere, anytime". Autoblog.
    7. Taylor Soper. "Car2go adds $1 'Driver Protection Fee' for each ride to offset lowered deductible - GeekWire". GeekWire.
    8. Griffin, Jon (23 May 2014). "Car2go scrapped a year after setting up in Birmingham". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 23 January 2015.
    9. Garrick, David (16 March 2016). "Car2Go switching electric cars to gas". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
    10. Garrick, David (31 December 2016). "Car2go ceases San Diego operations". sandiegouniontribune.com. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
    11. "BMW and Daimler close to merging car-sharing units: executive". Reuters. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
    12. "Daimler Mobility Services purchases Europcar Group's 25% stake in car2go Europe GmbH". Daimler. 1 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
    13. "Hundreds of thousands of Car2Go members to lose service as company pulls out of North America". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
    14. "Share Now, formerly Car2Go, is leaving North America". The Verge. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
    15. "Share Now: BMW und Mercedes verkaufen Carsharing an Stellantis". 3 May 2022. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
    16. "Share Now: Stellantis übernimmt Carsharing von BMW und Mercedes - manager magazin". 3 May 2022. Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
    17. "Free2move Becomes a World Leader in Mobility with Acquisition of Share Now". Stellantis. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
    18. "In depth: Daimler's Car2Go program is simple, amazing, but not perfect". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
    19. "eSmart III Production Commences". Fleets and Fuels.com. 19 June 2012. Archived from the original on 28 June 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
    20. "Car2go suspends operation in Lyon, France because of name conflict with Car' Go". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
    21. "Reif für die Insel: car2go bringt smart(e) Mobilität nach London | Daimler Global Media Site > Mercedes-Benz Cars > smart > car2go". Media.daimler.com. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
    22. "Daimler's car2go car-sharing service will launch in UK this fall". Green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
    23. "Car2go car-sharing service to suspend South Bay operations". 4 May 2015.
    24. "car2go Bailing out of Eugene". 24 June 2015.
    25. "Car2go shutting down in Copenhagen".
    26. "Car2Go suspending business indefinitely in Miami, Miami Beach". miamiherald.
    27. "Stockholms parkeringselände sätter P - Car2go lämnar Sverige". Veckans affärer. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
    28. "car2go Twin Cities on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
    29. "car2go San Diego on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
    30. "Important Update". news.car2go.com. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
    31. "Daimler Gives Up on Car-Sharing in China - Caixin Global". www.caixinglobal.com. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
    32. Cole, Craig. "Car2Go-ing, going, gone! Service pulls out of five North American cities". Roadshow. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
    33. Sousa, Jéssica (3 March 2020). "DriveNow. Carsharing service changes name and closes operations in Lisbon". O Jornal Económico. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
    34. "Meet the Fleet | SHARE NOW Cars". www.share-now.com. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
    35. "Opel wird Teil der SHARE NOW Flotte: Neue Modelle für individuelle Mobilitätserlebnisse".
    36. "Carsharing Flotte - Alle Autos im Überblick | SHARE NOW".
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