car2Go

Not to be confused with the Israeli company, Car2Go ltd.

car2go

160px
Type	Public (subsidiary)
Industry	Car rental
Founded	2008 (2008)
Headquarters	Ulm, Germany
Number of locations	30
Services	Carsharing
Parent	Daimler AG
Website	www.car2go.com

car2go is a subsidiary of Daimler AG providing carsharing services in European and North American cities. The company offers exclusively Smart Fortwo vehicles and features one-way point-to-point rentals. Users are charged by the minute, with hourly and daily rates available. The service forgoes the typical centralized rental office, and cars are user-accessed wherever parked via a downloadable smartphone app. As of May 2015, car2go is the largest carsharing company in the world with over 1,000,000 members.

History

Daimler introduced the service in Ulm, Germany, in October 2008, where it was developed by one of its internal business innovation units and was first tested exclusively by Daimler employees.

As of March 2015, Car2Go operates over 13,000 vehicles, which serve eight countries and 29 cities worldwide with over 1,000,000 customers.

Car2go adds a $1 'Driver Protection Fee' for each ride to offset the lowered deductible.

Since inception, Car2Go also withdrew from several locations, including Britain, where it closed its service in London and Birmingham after only a year of operation.

Locations

Current

File:Car2Go 04 2012 DC 3759.JPG

Car2Go member card reader that allows access to the vehicle

Car2Go cars in Austin, Texas

City/ Municipality	Country	Vehicles	Type	Start date	Reference
Austin	U.S.	300	Gasoline & Electric	May 2010
Düsseldorf	Germany	300	Gasoline	February 2011
Hamburg	Germany	700	Gasoline	April 2011
Vancouver	Canada	1,250	Gasoline & Electric	June 2011
San Diego	U.S.	400	Electric	November 2011
Amsterdam	Netherlands	350	Electric	November 2011
Vienna	Austria	800	Gasoline	December 2011
Madrid	Spain	350	Electric	November 2015
Washington, D.C.	U.S.	500	Gasoline	March 2012
Portland, Oregon	U.S.	530	Gasoline & Electric	March 2012
Berlin	Germany	1,200	Gasoline & Electric	April 2012
Toronto	Canada	375	Gasoline	June 2012
Calgary	Canada	550	Gasoline	July 2012
Miami	U.S.	300	Gasoline	July 2012
Cologne	Germany	350	Gasoline	September 2012
Stuttgart	Germany	500	Electric	November 2012
Seattle	U.S.	750	Gasoline	December 2012
Minneapolis–Saint Paul	U.S.	535	Gasoline	September 2013
Columbus	U.S.	300	Gasoline	October 2013
Denver	U.S.	400	Gasoline	June 2013
Munich	Germany	300	Gasoline	June 2013
Milan	Italy	700	Gasoline	August 2013
Montreal	Canada	340	Gasoline	November 2013
Rome	Italy	600	Gasoline	March 2014
Florence	Italy	200	Gasoline	May 2014
Frankfurt	Germany	250	Gasoline	September 2014
Copenhagen	Denmark	200	Gasoline	September 2014
New York City	U.S.	550	Gasoline	October 2014
Stockholm	Sweden	250	Gasoline	November 2014
Turin	Italy	450	Gasoline	March 2015
Arlington, Virginia	U.S.	200	Gasoline	September 2015
Prato	Italy	35	Gasoline	November 2015

Former

The following table details all locations where Car2Go is no longer active as of July 2015:

City/ Municipality	Country	Start date	End date	Reference
Ulm	Germany	October 2008	December 2014
Lyon	France	February 2012	June 2012
London	United Kingdom	December 2012	May 2014
Birmingham	United Kingdom	May 2013	May 2014
South Bay, Los Angeles	U.S.	June 2014	June 2015
Eugene, Oregon	U.S.	October 2014	June 2015

Business model

The Car2Go business model is similar in all markets, although rates vary by location. The company charges a per minute rate, with discounted fixed rates for hourly and daily usage also available and applied automatically. The rates are all-inclusive and cover rental, gas, insurance, parking (in authorized areas), and maintenance. A low fixed annual fee is sometimes also charged. In most markets, car2go vehicles can park in either specially designated parking spots, or in standard parking areas, with a special permit from the local municipality.

Vehicles

Two car2Go Smart electric drive cars charging at the Herengracht in Amsterdam

In most cities, car2Go offers exclusively two-passenger vehicles. Their fleet operates two types of Smart Fortwo "car2go edition" vehicles: gasoline-powered, and electric-powered. The gasoline-powered cars can be found in three variants based on roof configuration: "original" with integrated solar panel roof; "upgraded" with a panoramic polycarbonate roof and power side mirrors; and "new" featuring a standard roof. Electric Car2Go models are currently available in several markets, have a range of 84 miles (135 km), and need to be recharged every two or three days. In Vancouver, car2go has a pilot program with 25 four-door Mercedes B-class vehicles.

Apps

First-party and third-party apps for mobile devices allow users to locate and reserve vehicles. When reserving a car online, the customers are able to see the car's fuel gauge (gasoline-powered cars) or the battery's state of charge (electric-powered cars), so if the customer wants to go for an extended drive, they can find the right car for that trip. Customers can choose to refuel a vehicle to gain free usage minutes.

Disputes

The August 10, 2015 Car2Go informs its customers through its social channels that, because to the low availability of their cars in the morning in the central areas, starting from 17 of the same month will be introduced a system of incentives and disincentives "in order to optimize the location of car2go cars in Milan " introducing a cost of 4.90 € to the user which will release the vehicle outside the "Home Area ", determined by the company based on the amount of the service request.

In the days following, the City Council has submitted a request to clarify if the company has betrayed agreements, which - as stipulated in 2013 - should ensure coverage of 96% of the municipal area.

Citizens Milanesi meanwhile organized a flash-mob of protest that will take place on August 19 at the stop Pagano of Milan Metro.

See also

• Carsharing

External links

• Official website
• Daimler Mobility Concepts