Car-sharing will have minimal effect on vehicle sales

Car-sharing will have minimal effect on vehicle sales

Car-sharing services such as Zipcar will have a minimal effect on new-vehicle sales, according to a recent study by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR).

Most households that use car-sharing services do not own a vehicle, the report says. In North America, on average, 41 percent of car-sharing users chose to postpone or forego a vehicle purchase because of car-sharing. Another 20 percent got rid of one or more vehicles after becoming car-sharing users.

CAR estimates that in 2021, one shared car will replace 7.75 private vehicles in the U.S. But the effect on sales will be partially offset by sales to car-sharing fleets, where vehicles will likely be replaced every three years.

–Between 2010 and 2021, more than 137,500 sales will be lost in the United States because car-sharing members no longer need to buy their own vehicle,” says the CAR report. –By comparison, 55 million new and used vehicles were sold annually in the United States on average in the 2010-2015 period.” Hence, the effect of car-sharing will be minimal on vehicle sales.