AlixPartners Study: Every Car Shared Means 32 Lost Sales

TTAC Staff
by TTAC Staff

According to a report from consulting firm AlixPartners, each and every car in the Zipcar or car2go car-sharing fleets means 32 lost vehicle sales. Based on a survey of 2,000 adults in 10 major cities who use car-sharing services, the report says that Americans would have bought an additional half million new or used cars and light trucks since 2006 if they did not have access to those services. That figure is expected to grow to 1.2 million by the end of the decade.

The report expects that the number of drivers using car-sharing services will grow from less than 1 million today to 4 million by 2020.

For every car in its fleet, the average car-sharing service has about 66 members, a number that will grow to 81/car by 2020. Almost half of regular users end up not buying a car, the report said.

The study looked at car-sharing in: Chicago, Washington D.C., New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Miami, San Diego, Boston, Portland, Ore.; and Austin, Texas. Car-sharing is expanding, but that growth is currently limited to affluent, urban areas near universities. Should the autonomous car become a reality, though, it could spur dramatic growth in car-sharing.

TTAC Staff
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  • Danio3834 Danio3834 on Feb 05, 2014

    I'm not convinced the impact on car sales by car sharing services is so dramatic. Would most car share members actually buy a car were it not for the service? Or would they be using public transport, cabs, and possibly the occasional rental? Did the members surveyed have cars before subscribing, then sell them? I'd like to see more detail about the survey.

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    • Alanbudde Alanbudde on Feb 06, 2014

      I would guess the vast majority are one car households that would otherwise become two car households. If say you are a couple with two kids maybe you only need a second car 3 times a week but you really need those rides. It's much cheaper to spend say $200 a month on car share when you need it than to buy a second car. The other is people like me who might buy a car (though I personally wouldnt) only for weekend or occassional trips because I can take public transit almost everywhere.

  • Hawox Hawox on Feb 05, 2014

    car sharing is great thing for a big city. i paid 15000$ for a car wich is parked 22 hours/day, and i pay road taxes and insurance to let the car parked. in 10 years the car will only have 100-120.000 miles but require repairs or sostitution with a new car due to age. so yes, car sharing do rduce sales. but if i can avoid to buy a normal car for commute, maybe i can use the money to buy something for sunday driving. and the study should consider the sales made by sharing fleets: if i'd use a share car with other 33 persons the car won't last 10 years like mine does. it won't even last 5 i think.

  • Bryanska Bryanska on Feb 05, 2014

    Design challenge: what's the perfect sharing car? Can an automaker sell a car tailored to the sharing market? What features would it include? I propose a Honda Fit with a rubber floor, AUX AM/FM radio with no CD, very simple navigation, several USB ports, and bicycle roof rack. It has to be simple to use for people who don't drive very often.

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    • Someguyindc Someguyindc on Feb 06, 2014

      I grew up in the DC area and ditched my car when I moved into the city. I now rely on the metro, my bike, bikeshare, my feet, cabs, uber, the bus and car sharing to get around. It's far more convenient than it sounds. For car sharing, I have a card for Zipcar, Car2go, and the new enterprise car sharing group. Plus I travel a ton for work and rent cars all the time so to answer your question about the perfect car sharing car, there are two that come to mind: the new 4 door Fiat 500s and the older Honda Elements. Why? Four doors and a tailgate makes errands and groceries easy. Both are low enough to the ground that if equipped with roof racks people could easily access them. Both are surprisingly roomy inside and the gas mileage is good. Lastly, they are small enough to maneuver and park within crowded cities.

  • Catachanninja Catachanninja on Feb 06, 2014

    Autonomous car sharing scares me, I think cars look too much and behave too much alike as is. I can't imagine what taking away the ability to drive or own them will do to that.

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