The global car sharing fleet reached the 575,000-vehicle milestone in 2022 and is on track to reach 979,000 units at the end of 2027.

The global car sharing fleet is on track to reach 979,000 units at the end of 2027

The findings, published in a new research report by Berg Insight, show the fleet grew at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7% worldwide in 2022 and the firm is predicting CAGR of 11.2% over the next few years.

The report also forecasts that the number of members of such services will grow at a CAGR of 16.9%, from 123.4 million people in 2022 to 269.4 million people in 2027.

The data reveals particularly high take-up for car sharing services in Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Other markets that show promising signs are the South American and Middle Eastern markets. North America has struggled in recent years, but partly recovered in 2022, when the total fleet size and membership increased by 7.9% and  9.1% respectively.

The report also outlines that most car sharing organisations these days use station-based networks with roundtrip rental.

But free floating carsharing, which enables members to pick up and drop off cars anywhere within a designated area, is rapidly gaining in popularity and is expected to become the most common operational model in Europe in the coming years, in terms of both membership and fleet size.

In recent years, a number of operators have also experimented with hybrid models of roundtrip rentals and free floating carsharing.

A connected fleet and specialised software platforms are essential to run a carsharing business and while some operators use inhouse-developed hardware and software solutions for their operations, the majority source these kinds of products and services from specialised technology vendors, featuring either telematics equipment or software platforms or a combined end-to-end solution including both.

Recent years have seen a few carmakers exit the carsharing sector. BMW and Mercedes-Benz left the market when they sold their joint venture Share Now to Stellantis in 2022. Similarly, Volkswagen left the market in November 2022 as the carsharing service WeShare was acquired by the German CSO Miles.

Berg Insight data indicates that Stellantis is now the leading car sharing operator in the car OEM segment with its Free2Move business, which incorporates Share Now.

“The top 30 car sharing service providers accounted for about 80% of the carsharing members and managed close to 64% of the carsharing fleet worldwide at the end of 2022,” said Martin Cederqvist, IoT analyst at Berg Insight.