Friday, August 19, 2016

German carmakers see car sharing as a way to boost sales The National

The Chainsmokers - Paris (lyric)



German carmakers see carpooling as a way to boost sales.
Alarm bells ringing in the conference rooms of the German automakers.
Among young urbanites moving up, the desire to have a clean vehicle is in decline, and the hip electronics such as smartphones and tablet computers replace the car as status symbols.
It was ten years ago, one in two Germans aged 18 to 29 years had a car now, it is one in three.



A survey this year conducted among 1,200 people aged 20 to 29 years in six German cities showed that 80 percent believed they did not need a city car because public transport was a better alternative Close 40 percent agreed that cars aren t cool these days especially when an attachment symbol of freedom and prosperity, the car became an inconvenience and a drain on resources, it seems - at least for young citizens who are put off by owning a high cost to buy and run, the rapid loss of value, and the constant chase of parking.
This loss of automotive prestige once powerful is common to many developed economies, and it does not bode well for the global automotive industry Even Germany powerful manufacturers can not live exports to emerging economies alone .
Daimler, in which Abu Dhabi Aabar Investments owns a game Sept. 1 percent, was the first major manufacturers to respond.
It has launched a pilot carsharing project to its Smart cars in the German city of Ulm south in 2008 to earn rental income urban rich and attract potential buyers.


Carsharing works similarly to bicycle rental systems that have sprouted in European cities Cars can be picked up and dropped anywhere in the city limits, and are open with a computer chip attached to a s driving license on the nearest free vehicle can be located using a smartphone app.
In Hamburg, the hiring of an intelligent costs 29 cents per minute DH1 06, including gasoline Daimler also tested the car-sharing in Austin, Texas, and introduced this year in Hamburg, where he 300 is typically painted blue and white Smart cars available.
BMW and VW Rivals rush to follow suit with similar offerings called DriveNow and BMW Quicar system respectively launched this year in Munich and the company plans to extend the offer in Berlin VW focuses on Hanover.
Daimler cooperates with the rental company Europcar, which manages the registration BMW said in April there were 600,000 rental transactions fully automated in Ulm and Austin to date, averaging between 10 and 60 minutes each subsidiary car2go Daimler also plans to launch in Vancouver, Amsterdam and other cities.



Daimler-strategists say car sharing could potentially generate more than Dh525 million Ђ100 2 million in annual sales - as much as a series of completely new model But the plan does not only represent a new source of income - it is also a way get young people to test drive vehicles, they might then be tempted to buy.
This effect of advertising could become particularly important as a way to stoke demand for electric vehicles that are about to come on the market.
The biggest German manufacturers are about to start vehicle mass production battery powered and to add them to for their automotive fleets sharing Daimler plans to introduce an electric Smart next year.
The German automotive industry blames its international rivals in the electric car sector, and new rental systems can help them catch up by encouraging the development of a mass market for new vehicles.
Car-sharing has been around for decades and was organized on a nonprofit basis in various European cities.



However, it took off as an industry in the 1990s and now a number of companies, including Deutsche Bahn, the German rail operator, offer this form of cheap car rentals The disadvantage of the conventional system is that vehicles must be picked up and dropped at specific locations such as train stations the new systems from Daimler, BMW and VW are much more flexible.
Environmentalists complain that automakers plans are not as green as the sound because they encourage people to take spontaneous trips that leave a greater carbon footprint than if they had taken public transport.
However, if car sharing whets the appetite of young people for electric cars, the environment should take advantage - just as the profits of automakers.








German carmakers see car sharing as a way to boost sales The National, German makers, revived.