US car clubs merge to create organisation with 180,000 members
Fri 02 November 2007
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Zipcar and Flexcar, North America's two biggest car sharing services, have agreed to a merger which will create an organisation with 180,000 members and ownership of about 5,000 vehicles. Meanwhile, there are signs of a growth in interest in car sharing in the UK.
The FT reports that the merger is intended as a means of accelerating the expansion of car sharing in the US and of responding to competition from conventional car-rental operators.
Zipcar's Chief Executive, Scott Griffith, who will lead the combined company, said: "This is a business that requires quite a lot of investment and scale to succeed".
Car sharing allows drivers to rent vehicles for periods as short as an hour. Vehicles can typically be picked up at locations convenient to members' homes and offices, such as subway stations and shopping precinct car parks. The operator handles insurance, cleaning and repairs.
The concept was pioneered in Switzerland and Germany, but has become increasingly popular in other countries with the rise in fuel, car insurance and parking costs.
In the UK, Streetcar claims to be the country's biggest pay-as-you-go car club. Streetcar, which launched in 2004, says it has 20,000 members using 600 cars at dozens of locations in London and in five other cities.
Streetcar has recently announced an order for a number of VW vehicles under the 'Blue Motion' identity. The car club operator hopes that getting car-club members into the new eco-Polos will be a useful way of spreading the message. Streetcar's co-founder Andrew Valentine predicts that UK membership will rise to 150,000 by 2012 and the car fleet to around 5,000. According to Valentine, each Streetcar is taking 20 privately-owned cars off city streets.
Zipcar has also set up operations in London this year and will be in competition with Streetcar. The move is a possible prelude to what may be the first pan-European car-sharing service.
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