July 30, 2013

Will car ownership eventually die out?



As car sharing businesses mushroom, the traditional car industry is forced to change.

In the recent article How the sharing economy is shaking the hotel industry, the sharing economy's effect on the hotel industry was touched on. In this article, it is the car industry that we look at; a sector that may feel a stronger impact from the sharing economy than hotels.

Car sharing businesses, such as RelayRides, FlightCar, WhipCar, Liftshare and Zipcar, to name just a few, have enjoyed an equally great response on both sides of the emerging peer-to-peer model. On the one hand, car owners are able to turn their vehicles into small-sized businesses, producing income from renting them on a short-term basis. On the other hand, consumers rent a car based on their needs, for the specific amount of time they require, at locations they find convenient, with less paperwork involved and at a cheaper price.