Auto Rental News
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

car2go Usage Increases 40% in First Half 2017

Usage of car2go increased by 40% year-over-year in the first half of 2017 compared to the first half of 2016 across all 11 of the service's North American locations. Among car2go's locations, New York, Toronto, and Vancouver have experienced the fastest year-over-year membership growth.

by Staff
August 9, 2017
car2go Usage Increases 40% in First Half 2017

car2go currently offers Mercedes-Benz vehicles in eight of its 11 North American locations. Photo courtesy of car2go

2 min to read


car2go currently offers Mercedes-Benz vehicles in eight of its 11 North American locations. Photo courtesy of car2go

car2go N.A. has seen an increase in its carsharing service during the first six months of 2017.

Usage of car2go increased by 40% year-over-year in the first half of 2017 compared to the first half of 2016 across all 11 of the service's North American locations — with more than 4.5 million trips taken so far this year.

Ad Loading...

car2go members have also spent 33% more time traveling in car2gos in the first half of 2017 versus the first half of 2016, according to the company.

"car2go is an increasingly important part of more and more peoples' lives, and it's so satisfying to see how we are tangibly improving quality of life through carshare in cities across North America," said Paul DeLong, CEO of car2go North America. "We are continually working to help more people in cities travel easily and affordably, and are in discussions with a number of additional cities who — like us — want to deliver the many economic and environmental benefits of one-way carsharing to their residents and visitors."

In January, car2go started offering Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Since then, car2go currently offers larger four-door, five passenger Mercedes-Benz vehicles in eight of the service’s 11 North American locations. According to the company, it plans to bring Mercedes-Benz vehicles to additional North American locations and will eventually have a North American fleet made up predominantly of Mercedes-Benz CLA and GLA vehicles.

"In July 2016, we released results of our three-year study examining the impact of one-way carsharing across five North American cities,” said Susan Shaheen, co-director of the University of California Berkeley's Transportation Sustainability Research Center. “Across the cities, we found that one-way carsharing services, like car2go, were responsible for removing up to 11 other vehicles from urban streets while also reducing carbon emissions on net. It's encouraging to see that car2go's membership not only continues to rise, but that car2go's members are opting to choose carsharing more frequently when they travel."

Among car2go's locations, New York, Toronto, and Vancouver have experienced the fastest year-over-year membership growth in the first half of this 2017. Vancouver tops all North American car2go membership with over 135,000 local members. In the U.S., Seattle leads with more than 95,000 members.

More Rental Operations

green and blue bar graphs compare fleet sales June 2025 versus June 2026
Fleet Acquisitionby Martin RomjueJuly 8, 2026

Rental Car Fleet Sales Show Mid-Year Strength

June gains ensured rental fleets closed out the first half of 2026 in positive territory.

Read More →
Close up of a row of white CUVs in the Surprice Mobility fleet at the Milan airport.

Surprice Mobility Opens Corporate Rental Station at Milan Malpensa Airport

The Milan opening is part of Surprice Mobility's broader strategy to expand its corporate operations while increasing the use of technology across its network.

Read More →
Julian Gritsch with an MBA class in a classroom.

Brazilian Executive MBA Targets Growing Domestic Rental Car Industry

Rental car companies face a unique combination of challenges that are rarely addressed in traditional programs.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Green Motion team with banner bearing Japanese flag.

Green Motion Expands Into Japan With Master Franchise Agreement

Japan's tourism industry, business travel market, and demand for vehicle rental services are reasons the country represents an important market for the company.

Read More →
ACRA Chairman Sharky Laguana on stage at the ICRS event in Grapevine, Texas.
Legal & Legislativeby Martin RomjueJune 24, 2026

ACRA Carrying Fuller Industry Load As AI and EVs Lurk In Future

The leading car rental professional business group details an active legislative, regulatory, and macro-trends agenda affecting car rental operators.

Read More →
Light blue horizontal bar graphs on a chart showing World Cup-related rental car booking trends.
Rental OperationsJune 23, 2026

World Cup Travel Data Shows Longer Car Rentals and More One-Ways

A recent analysis of FIFA bookings found varied demand patterns that influenced rental car pricing.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Side view of ICRS speaker Sanchit Garg at podium in front of a floor lit red curtain
Rental Operationsby Martin RomjueJune 22, 2026

A Leveling Force: AI Morphs Into A Rental Car Profit-Seeker

Revenue managers can’t match the emerging AI tools gobbling lots of data that could counter the competitive race to the rate bottom.

Read More →
Photos of Martin Romjue and Denis Gjoni on opposite sides of large headline for the video.
Rental Operationsby Martin RomjueJune 17, 2026

Stop Losing Money On Rental Tolls

Regardless of your rental fleet size and structure, fleet managers, executives, and owners can gain valuable insights into an often-overlooked area of fleet operations.

Read More →
Richard Lowden gesturing on stage in front of a red curtain at the Gaylord Texan Resort near Dallas.
Rental Operationsby Martin RomjueJune 12, 2026

Rethink The Future To Avert A Race To The Bottom

Rental car operators heard a sobering industry message and a stern challenge at the close of the International Car Rental Show.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
John Possumato holding microphone while asking a question during a live conference session at the ICRS Show.

DriveItAway, Free2move Plan Shared Fleet Program for Independent Rental Fleet Operators

Vehicles would be placed with participating rental operations to support car renter demand and provide additional fleet capacity.

Read More →
Ad Loading...