Carsharing - Innovations

Innovations

Car sharing operators are increasingly opting to brand parts of their fleets with third-party advertising in order to increase revenue and improve competitiveness. Transit media, as this out-of-home advertising medium is referred to, is a strategy currently (or soon to be) employed by larger car sharing operators such, Canada's AutoShare and the UK's City Car Club.

For future applications, many car sharing companies, such as GreenShareCar in Australia, are now investing in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). With the use of these types of vehicles, cost of gas consumption can be greatly reduced. Since most customers do not need the vehicle for long amounts of time or distance, it gives the car sharing company time to collect and recharge these vehicles for additional use. This application can greatly reduce carbon emissions and improve city environments.

Also, car sharing can be considered as an example of a technological change in consumption, which is a ‘process of mutual adjustment between innovation and its socio-economic environment.’ This type of innovation poses much potential due to the current state of technological change based on today’s passenger transportation capabilities.

Other countries are already moving into designing concept cars that is solely based as an urban public vehicle. The Phiaro P70t Conch, Japan’s new concept vehicle, is a completely battery powered, three-seater vehicle which was designed for the purpose of car sharing. The vehicle was made to be small and compact enough to be driven around urban environments without sacrificing parking. The promotion of these kinds of concept vehicles have caught the attention of automotive companies worldwide.

In Germany a pilot project has been started by the semiconductor manufacturer Infineon to replace regular pool vehicles with a corporate carsharing system. Corporate carsharing is a more economical solution than company cars in regard to administration, travel and running expenses and maintenance.