How to successfully position yourself in the market

In the shared mobility market, sustainable success is essentially based on two factors: a profound understanding of user expectations and a state-of-the-art offering.

  • Intermodality: Shared mobility involves more than classic car sharing. Today, many journeys are made intermodally, i.e., with transfers between at least two modes of transport. Intermodal travelers want an all-round app with which they can compile and book the optimum timetable for every destination and travel purpose from all the offers.
  • Fee-based additional services to car sharing: reserved parking spaces, parking space search via app, concierge services such as telephone navigation assistance, room or table reservations.
  • Shared mobility as a testing ground for technical innovations: Disruptive innovations such as electromobility or (partially) autonomous driving can be rolled out more easily in a limited environment (urban area, short-haul route) than over a wider area.
  • Keep it simple for the customer: Customers expect self-explanatory apps without entry barriers that combine all mobility aspects. Options such as parking the vehicle in a public parking area (freefloating), long-distance or one-way rates make the offer more attractive.

From the provider’s point of view, it is also important that the mobility services marketed fit in with the portfolio and stand out from competing offerings.

  • Car sharing as an advertising channel: Every ride in a rental car is also a test drive with the model in question. Car manufacturers use self-operated corporate or premium carsharing to introduce lucrative target groups to vehicles from the mid-range and upper price segments and generate buying interest.
  • Full-service offering: all aspects of carsharing are integrated as new business areas around rental, including payment and data networking.
  • Market positioning: either upgrading and expanding a position as a local hero or rapid supraregional expansion with a business model that can be scaled in the short term.