Number of electric shared cars has doubled in 2021
The amount of electric shared cars has more than doubled last year. In March 2020, there were 5,200 electric shared cars, while one year later, we counted 11,500. Other forms of car sharing are increasingly popular, as is shown by the national dashboard on car sharing 2021, made by CROW-KpVV.
Electric car sharing on the rise
Electric car sharing is growing rapidly. That is good news for our climate and clean air in the city; cars that are propelled by electricity do not emit exhaust gases. The number of electric shared cars (both full electric and plug-in hybrid) has doubled in 2021. Of all 87.825 shared cars in the Netherlands, about 13% is electrical. That is a high percentage when compared to the average car in the Netherlands of which roundabout 3,1 per cent is electrical.
Vice minister Van Weyenberg (infrastructure and water works) states that this is good news: “Car sharing is on the rise and that is a good thing. It helps mitigate climate change, cleaner air and a better use of public space. On top of that, for many people it is an affordable alternative to a privately owned car or a second car. And being electric only makes it more advantageous.”
Growth on all fronts
The quick increase of the number of electrical shared cars is seen in multiple areas. Free-floating shared cars (in which you can leave the car at your destination) are practically all fully electric. This also goes for the roundtrip shared cars which are home zone based. The other variant of roundtrip carsharing (the station based version) and business carsharing are off for a good head start in electrification.
Research shows that the process of installing a charging point near a car sharing parking spot can be a delaying factor. Especially the realisation of charging infrastructure in public spaces is time consuming, requiring an extra planning effort for car sharing service providers.
Growth is accelerating
The Netherlands had about 87.000 shared cars early 2021. In one year’s time that means that about 13.000 cars have been added. On a national scale, the growth of shared cars is continuing and even seems to accelerate.
Type of car sharing
All types of car sharing have increased on the supply side over 2020. The most frequently observed type of car sharing is peer-to-peer car sharing, which enables you to rent a car from another person. Of all other types, business car sharing has seen the fastest growth, followed by round trip car sharing. After that we see community-based car sharing (a fixed group of people is using one or more shared cars in a closed pool) and free floating car sharing.