In five years, the number of car sharers has risen to 194,000, a sevenfold increase. According to Autodelen.net, this is just the beginning. Currently, 2.5% of driving license holders in Belgium are already car-sharing, while in Brussels the figure is as high as 8%. All figures, facts and trends from 2021 can be found in the annual report of Autodelen.net.
Almost 200,000 car sharers
Over the last five years, the number of car sharers has increased by 700%. At the end of 2021, 194,000 people were members of car-sharing groups who together shared more than 4,600 cars. Compared with 2021, this is an increase of 30% and 20% respectively. In the Brussels Capital Region, we have recorded more than 63,000 car sharers, which represents an increase of 6% compared with 2020.
Car sharing: 3 options
The largest group of car sharers are registered with a free-floating car sharing provider (112,000), followed by round-trip car sharing (65,000) and private car sharing with shared costs (16,000).
- Free-floating is a system where there are no fixed pick-up or drop-off locations.
- Round-trip is a form of car sharing that requires the car to be returned to the same place after use.
- Private car sharing with shared costs is borrowing a car from an owner or buying a car in joint ownership with someone else.
In terms of active users, round-trip car sharing is most popular, with 48,000 members using a shared car at least once in 2021. With free-floating providers, the number of active users is much lower at 35,000. There are 5,000 active users of private car-sharing.
In Brussels and Flanders, where 8% and 2.7% of driving license holders respectively are already car sharing, Autodelen.net expects to see exponential growth in the coming years.
The automotive sector benefits too
The two new car sharing initiatives (Claus2you and Flexigo) of 2021 were not set up just by chance by local car dealerships. In 2016, car dealership Houttequiet was the first to launch the car sharing concept to its customers under the Stapp.in brand. In 2018, D'Ieteren, entered the car sharing market with the free-floating platform Poppy, while Valckenier Group set up SHARE Mobility in 2019. Through a franchise system of the above initiatives, there are now already over 20 local dealership owners that offer car sharing.
Want to find out more?
Read the annual report of autodelen.net here
