car sharing

10 'car sharing' stories September 2015 - December 2019

The dream of electric-car sharing services died in 2019

Bradley Berman Dec 30 2019 - 2:42 pm PT

The experiment to offer battery-electric vehicles by the day or hour is mostly done. Companies such as BlueIndy, Maven, and ShareNow pulled the plug in 2019. These companies, launched with enthusiasm just a couple of years ago, were based on the idea that urban consumers would be eager to access (rather than own) a zero-emissions vehicle for local travel. But the operational costs and complicated logistics outweighed the interest in fledgling services. Maybe people want a private EV after all.

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EVs are blowing up on Turo, showing strong organic demand for electric cars

Jameson Dow Apr 22 2019 - 7:00 am PT

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We’ve written before about car sharing platforms being used by EV owners, particularly Tesla owners, to make a little side money with their cars. Turo is the biggest example of this, and they’ve shared some statistics with us about their platform showing that EVs are quite popular there and gaining steam much faster than the rest of the site.

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Lime skips scooters in Seattle to reportedly test out small electric car rentals

Micah Toll Nov 5 2018 - 4:07 pm PT

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Lime is reportedly preparing to upgrade from Lime bikes and scooters to small Lime electric cars, with tests planned soon in Seattle. The move would put them in increasingly direct competition with ride-share services such as Uber and Lyft.

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GM launches a new car-sharing and mobility service: Maven

Fred Lambert Jan 21 2016 - 7:19 am PT

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After its recent investment in Lyft and its acquisition of Sidecar, General Motors announced today its own new car-sharing service under a new “mobility brand” called “Maven”.

The company says Maven will incorporate multiple programs with the single mission “to give customers access to highly personalized, on-demand mobility services”. Expand
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GM invests $500 million in Lyft to create an autonomous on-demand car-sharing network

Fred Lambert Jan 4 2016 - 9:34 am PT

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General Motors President Dan Ammann (center) with Lyft Inc. co-f

GM announced a $500 million investment in car-sharing company Lyft to create an integrated network of on-demand autonomous vehicles in the U.S. Expand
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Tianjin will get a fleet of 1,000 EVs for a new car-sharing program

Fred Lambert Nov 27 2015 - 6:42 am PT

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Kandi K10 EV Kandi announced a deal with Pang Da to bring a fleet of 1,000 electric vehicles to Tianjin for a new car-sharing program – one of the biggest of its kind. The program will use Kandi’s Smart-looking K10 EV with 93 miles (150 km) of range on a single charge. All the cars should be delivered by the end of the year.

Full press release below: Expand
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Over 500 people signed up for BlueIndy, Indianapolis’ all-electric car sharing program

Fred Lambert Nov 11 2015 - 9:23 am PT

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After its first full month of service, BlueIndy announced that over 500 people have signed up for the all-electric car sharing program. The company is operating over 25 stations in Indianapolis hosting up to 5 cars each.

The price structure of the program is fairly simple. Drivers need to pay a 10$ per month membership fee if you sign-up for 1 year and then $4 for the first 20 minutes of use of a Bluecar and $0.20 per additional minute. Expand
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BMW pulls the plug on its electric car-sharing program in San Francisco

Fred Lambert Oct 6 2015 - 6:21 am PT

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BMW’s DriveNow program, which gives users access to a fleet of BMW i3’s to rent by the minute, is shutting down in San Francisco indefinitely because the automaker and city officials can’t come to an understanding over parking permit regulations according to Auto News.

San Francisco was the only U.S. city in which the program was in place. DriveNow is more active in Europe. BMW recently delivered 400 i3’s in Copenhagen to expand the car-sharing program in Denmark. Expand
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GM reveals a new plan for a self-driving Chevy Volt in 2016

Fred Lambert Oct 1 2015 - 3:30 pm PT

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GM CEO Mary Barra made a series of announcement today about the “future of personal mobility”, most notable of which a new plan for autonomous Chevy Volt to be available to GM employees to drive on private property next year.

A fleet of 2017 Volt equipped with GM’s self-driving technology will be made available in late 2016 for GM employees to reserve through a new car-sharing app and drive around the company’s Warren Technical Center campus in Michigan. Expand
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Indianapolis’ all-electric car sharing program, BlueIndy, officially launches today

Fred Lambert Sep 2 2015 - 8:50 am PT

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Today Indianapolis is officially launching BlueIndy, its all-electric car sharing program. The program has been in the work for quite sometime now, but today 25 stations hosting up to 5 cars each are up-and-running.

BlueIndy is modeled after the car sharing programs, like Autolib in Paris, operated by the Bolloré Group in Europe and it uses the same car, the Bluecar, manufactured in partnership between the France-based Bolloré Group and the Italian automotive company Cecomp. Expand
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