The carsharing market - France (2023)

1.2 The global market

The global carsharing market is booming, and promises to develop at a sustained pace over the next ** years. Estimates point to an average annual growth rate of **% over the period **** - ****. At a time of global warming and the depletion of fossil fuels, carsharing appears to be a life-saving mode of transport. The following graph illustrates the growth prospects for the global carsharing market:

Evolution of the carsharing market World, **** - ****, in millions of USD Source: ****

Data from **** onwards are projections. They augur well for the global carsharing market, which should represent sales of almost ** billion dollars by ****, i.e. around six times more than today. Among the factors behind this strong growth is the impetus provided by the public sector, whose carbon emission reduction targets will force the transport sector to make the transition to sustainability. As a result, we can expect significant investment (***) in the car-sharing market. Finally, demographic growth may be another reason for the future growth of the carsharing market: traffic is bound to become ever busier and more disruptive, and carsharing makes it possible to drastically reduce the number of cars on the road.

what's more, the global carsharing market is currently dominated by the loop ...

1.3 The French market

As on a global scale, the French carsharing market is growing rapidly. In order to establish an overview of the French carsharing market, it may be interesting to visualize the evolution of the vehicle fleet and the number of unique users of carsharing services. Below is a graph showing the evolution of the number of vehicles on the carsharing market:

Evolution of the carsharing fleet France, **** - ****, in number of vehicles Source: ****

The number of vehicles made available for carsharing is rising steadily, with the fleet in January **** almost *,*** vehicles higher than in January ****. But the biggest increase is in the number of registered users. At the start of ****, there were one million registered users, ***,*** more than at the start of ****. The number of unique users, on the other hand, has had more difficulty in picking up after the multiple confinements that considerably reduced traffic:

Trend in the number of unique carsharing users France, **** - **** Source: ****

In fact, it was not until **** that the number of unique users exceeded the level reached in ****. But after a difficult recovery, the data recorded at the start of **** show an exceptional rise in this figure. AAA counts ***,*** unique users, an increase of **% on ****. This ...

2.1 Different profiles for different services

Thanks to a survey carried out on a representative sample of carsharing users,ADEME (***) has been able to draw up typical portraits of loop, free-floating and Getaround carsharing users.

Characteristics of loop service users

What's more, users of this type of service tend to be loyal. Over three-quarters of those surveyed have been registered for at least two years. This loyalty is even greater among subscribers and professionals. Their loyalty is also illustrated by their desire to remain a subscriber to the service in question: **.*% of those surveyed said they wanted to renew their subscription within the next five years.

Characteristics of free-floating service users

Compared to users of a loop service, users of a free-floating service are more male (***).

Characteristics of Getaround users

The typical profile of Getaround users is also more male (***).

2.2 Determinants of demand: economic reasons

Given the evolution of vehicle technologies, the average price of a car is constantly rising. Let's take the example of the evolution of the price of a top-of-the-range Golf quoted by Fiches Auto: while a top-of-the-range Golf from **** (***) now costs **,*** euros. Even beyond the evolution of equipment in the car, there is an inflation that is independent of this phenomenon. This is an obstacle to the purchase of a private car. Car-sharing therefore appears to be an economical alternative to the traditional purchase of a car, which is generally very expensive.

What's more, buying a car involves additional expenses, which car-sharing saves. Here's a graph showing the different expenses involved in owning a car:

Average annual expenditure on car ownership France, ****, in Source: ****

In total, the cost of owning a car is estimated at **** euros per year in ****, which represents almost *** euros per month. However, car-sharing enables users to avoid most of the expenses detailed above. In fact, with this mode of transport, expenses linked to insurance, fuel (***) are non-existent. The economic argument therefore carries considerable weight in the demand for carsharing.

Main reasons for subscribing to a carsharing service France, ****, in Source: ****

The two main reasons for subscribing to a ...

2.3 Demand drivers: the environmental motive

In light of the environmental challenges facing the French and citizens of the world today, carsharing may appear to be a panacea, or at least an adjunct to the ecological transition of the transport sector. For example, one car in a car-sharing loop can replace between * and * private cars, and save between **,*** and **,*** kilometers of private driving per year[***]:

Reduced use of raw materials: essential to the construction of a car, their extraction is harmful to the environment; Reduced CO* emissions: naturally, cars also emit emissions when they are on the road; Reduced energy consumption.

As individuals, and young people in particular, are particularly sensitive to environmental issues, car-sharing appeals to many of them. Below is a graph showing the motivations of young people when choosing their mode of transport:

Motivation criteria of **-** year-olds when choosing their daily mobility mode France, ****, in Source: ****

the ecological criterion comes second with **%, just behind the economic criterion (***). This figure bears witness to the virtual prevalence of environmental issues in the mobility decisions of young French people.

Similarly, according to a survey conducted by Drivalia, **% of French people want to reduce their car use, largely for environmental reasons:

Reasons for reducing car use France, ...

2.4 A specific request depending on the service offered and the nature of the journey

Carsharing is used in a number of specific situations. The ADEME study reveals trends in the types of journeys for which carsharing is used:

Reasons for renting a car-sharing vehicle France, ****, in Source: ****

in over **% of cases, respondents indicated that they use carsharing for four specific types of journey:

Leisure or social activities Going on vacation or weekend Transporting bulky items Shopping

Demand therefore depends on the nature of the journey the user wishes to make.

Furthermore, as we saw earlier, each type of carsharing service can attract users with their own socio-demographic characteristics. Indeed, the three services meet different mobility needs. For example, users of the Getaround service use carsharing less often than users of loop services:

Monthly frequency of service use by subscribers Source: ****

In fact, since the average frequency of use of a loop carsharing service is higher than the median, we can deduce that many users have a high frequency of use of the service, which is not the case for Getaround users. On the contrary, users of free-floating services use carsharing far more frequently than users of loop services:

Monthly frequency of service use by subscribers (***) Source: ****

Half of free-floating service users use car-sharing at least ...

3.1 Carsharing market value chain

There are many different players in the carsharing market. They include the public authorities, whose influence is reflected in the legislative framework they define (***) and finally the users. The following diagram shows the relationships between these different players:

Source: ****

3.2 A relatively small but growing market

The carsharing market numbered ** operators at the start of ****. Below is a graph showing the evolution of the number of operators.

Growth in the number of operators in the carsharing market France, **** - ****, in number of operators Source: ****

The number of operators has remained relatively stable over the past four years. The market is fairly compartmentalized, due to tough competition and high entry costs. Building up your own fleet of vehicles represents a colossal investment. This represents a major challenge for players wishing to enter this market.

However, as observed in the first section, the number of vehicles dedicated to carsharing is growing rapidly:

Evolution of the carsharing fleet France, **** - ****, in number of vehicles Source: ****

Market growth is not so much due to an increase in the number of players, but rather to an increase in the size of the players already present. New entrants are few and far between, but existing operators are managing to win new market share, given that demand is still far from saturated (***).

3.3 Operator typology

Loop, Getaround and free-floating car-sharing services meet different needs and each has its own specific customer base. Today, loop and getaround carsharing remain the dominant services on the market, but some operators are trying to diversify their offer.

Carsharing market players by service France, ****, in number of operators Source: ****

Thus, ** of the ** operators present on the carsharing market offer a station-based service (***). On the other hand, only one carsharing vehicle in five offers a free-floating service. Generally speaking, the players are concentrated in urban areas. Of the *** French communes with at least one carsharing service, *** are urban, *** of them densely populated. In total, over ** million French people have potential access to a carsharing service[***].

4.1 Offer typology

The range of services on offer is heterogeneous, with some operators offering exclusively a loop service, others only a free-floating service, and still others a mixed service. But despitethe disparities in terms of services offered (***). The table below lists the prices of the main companies on the market:

Carsharing service pricing for ** companies (***)

Source: ****

It should be noted that fuel pricing varies according to the operator. For example, Getaround Connect does not include fuel. For the rest of the companies, fuel cards are supplied with the vehicle. Similarly, the distance traveled may or may not be taken into account, depending on the operator. Some companies have a flat-rate mileage system, while others rely solely on a pick-up and drop-off perimeter. Other companies charge by the kilometer, starting with the first kilometer driven.

4.2 Supply trends: the carsharing market's fleet transition

Constrained by changing environmental standards concerning vehicle pollution, operators are having to transition their fleets to environmentally-friendly vehicles. More than a constraint, this transition is also an opportunity and a marketing argument, insofar as many users choose carsharing to reduce their carbon footprint. As a reminder, the environmental reason for carsharing was cited by **% of respondents to theADEME survey. The third lever for fleet demotorization is the corollary of the move away from internal combustion engines, namely the development of electric cars. The legal framework will gradually reform the transport sector, as shown in the graph below:

evolution of the fleet electrification rate required by law France, **** - ****, as % of fleet Source: ****

By *****, **% of the French fleet should be made up of electric vehicles. As a result, production of electric cars is increasing, and with it, so is the diversity of models. The following graph shows the trend in sales of electric and hybrid vehicles since ****:

Trend in the number of electric and hybrid cars sold France, **** - ****, in thousands Source: ****

The number of electric and hybrid vehicles on the road has risen spectacularly. Whereas these vehicles represented just *.*% of the automotive market in ****, they now account for over **% of new ...

5.1 The Mobility Orientation Act (LOM) and the label

Published in ****, the Loi d'Orientation des Mobilités aims to make everyday transport easier, cheaper and cleaner. The LOM has prescribed colossal investments in the sector: **.* billion euros over the ****-**** period, with a particular focus on everyday transport. The law also aims to take advantage of digitalization to offer new services to users. But above all, it is the promotion of cleaner transport that is made: we find the inscription of "the end of sales of fossil fuel carbon cars by ****, the deployment of electric recharging or the development of low emission zones".

It is possible to distinguish three pillars in the LOM:

Investing more and better in everyday transport: **.* billion euros invested, refocusing investment on everyday transport rather than new projects, concentrating */* of investment on rail over the ****-**** period; Facilitate and encourage the deployment of new solutions to enable everyone to get around: alternative solutions to the private car offered by local authorities across ***% of the territory, thanks to simpler, less costly tools that are better adapted to their needs, which they will now be able to implement: carpooling, transport on demand, autonomous shuttles, etc. Home-work mobility at the heart of social dialogue within companies: it will become ...

5.2 Low-emission zones (ZFE)

Low-emission zones are a tool for improving air quality. Their introduction is a response to the need to protect public health. Indeed, air quality is a major public health issue, particularly in large cities and their suburbs. It is therefore essential to pursue this dynamic throughout France. "The law provides for the introduction of ZFEs in major conurbations, with flexibility adapted to local levels of air pollution."[***]

Thus, the carsharing market is subject to these regulations and must adapt its fleet accordingly, as explained in the offer section.

6.1 Segmentation

• Lynk and Co (Geely)
• Zity
• Citiz
• Ubeeqo
• Getaround (Ex drivy)
• Koolicar
• Communauto