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.