Frost & Sullivan released a study, “Voice of Future Car Sharing Customer: It's All about Wholly Sharing and Partly Pairing,” that analyzed car sharing in Germany, France and the United Kingdom on Feb. 6. The study looked at both traditional car sharing and peer-to-peer car sharing concepts.

Frost & Sullivan expects traditional car sharing to reach 3 million members and 70,000 cars in 2013 and 26.2 million members by 2020 globally. The top five factors to drive car sharing growth are age, transportation alternatives, car-ownership, pricing, model availability and familiarity with car sharing.

The study found that companies should focus on attracting customers aged 25 to 34 years with low access or ownership to a car and a high level of interest in car sharing. Car sharing also must co-exist with public transportation rather than serve as an alternative.

Of the respondents in the study, 40% of current car owners with one car are likely to give up car ownership after becoming a member of a car sharing service. Also, 60% of current non-car owners who have a car sharing membership will not consider purchasing a new car.

Frost & Sullivan explained that car sharing companies could increase business by offering lower prices and 4-seater vehicles — which are popular among current customers. It is also important for the market players to understand the voice of the customer and the expectations of non-members.

Familiarity will also drive membership rates, as the study found that only one in four of non-members are familiar with car sharing. Of those with no familiarity compared to those with familiarity, there was a 38% increase of non-members interested in car sharing when they were given a detailed introduction to the concept. France showed the largest difference between the two groups at 48%. Germany showed a 37% increase in interest and the United Kingdom a 29% increase.

In regards to the peer-to-peer car sharing concept, the study showed that respondents reported a greater interest in using someone else’s car rather than letting others use their own car.

About the Study

The research project was conducted with an overall sample size of 2,348 respondents in five key cities in Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The objectives of this study were to get information on transport usage and commuting profiles, interest in car sharing, expectations of car sharing, the willingness to pay for such a service and a future demand analysis.

View the full report by clicking on the URL:
http://www.frost.com/sublib/display-market-insight-top.do?id=273488817

Related article: Revealing the Car-Share Experience