José Loring: “Carsharing is the future of mobility”
The increasing pollution experienced in cities like Barcelona has led to the proliferation of phenomena such as carsharing or hourly car rental.
Air pollution is a serious issue for large cities, which increasingly demands more drastic measures to address a public health problem. Without going to the extremes of London, Paris, Athens, Oslo, or Berlin, Barcelona will restrict access to its metropolitan area from December for gasoline vehicles registered before the year 2000 and diesel vehicles prior to 2006. For now, the restriction is only effective on days of environmental pollution and during working hours, although it is planned that from January 2020, the measure will become permanent.
In this context, carsharing, or short-term car rental, emerges as a global solution for moving freely around cities without bearing the annual vehicle maintenance costs and with the awareness of contributing to environmental preservation. To gain a deeper understanding of this worldwide phenomenon, we have spoken with José Loring, General Manager of Avancar in Spain.
How does the carsharing phenomenon originate and how does it come to our country?
Carsharing originated in Switzerland in 1987 and arrived in Spain in 2011 through Avancar. Currently, there are more than 900,000 carsharing users worldwide, spread across more than 600 cities in 18 countries and four continents, with a fleet of over 30,000 vehicles. The dominant company is Zipcar, of which we are a subsidiary, which has more than 600,000 members and a fleet of 10,000 vehicles in the United States and Canada. In Europe, Zipcar operates in Germany, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Iceland, and Turkey. It has expansion plans in Latin America and in Asia we are in Taipei.
How exactly was Avancar born and what is its business model?
Avancar was the first company to offer the service in Spain. We are an alternative worth considering when buying a car. The costs of fuel, maintenance, taxes, are higher than the expense assumed by using the carsharing service. Our mission is to offer a more economical, flexible, and sustainable mobility alternative, where our customer can easily, quickly, and flexibly reserve a car.
How is carsharing different from other vehicle rental companies like Europcar or Hertz?
We are a car rental company by the hour or by the day. Time and availability are what set us apart. You can find us in any corner of the city and use us for the exact amount of time you need the car. We are a real alternative to owning a car since our prices do not fluctuate often like those of leasing companies. We give customers the chance to incorporate Pay per use into their lifestyle. Our clients like to move freely, whether for work or leisure: today I need it for a meeting, tomorrow I want to get away with my friends, and so on.
Is it necessary for the service to work that they be large cities?
We usually associate carsharing with large cities. Places where the need to complement public transport services has led to the emergence of alternatives. But Zipcar is designed to work in any city around the world as an additional mobility option for its residents.
How has your evolution been since your arrival in 2011?
Avancar has hundreds of cars spread throughout the city. This year, we have grown by 25% compared to the previous year, and the use of our service is five times that of private car use in Barcelona. We can say that our customers make recurring use of the service. Our global service, the strength of our technological platform, which we have been developing for years, and the adaptation of the service to each city are our competitive advantages.
Considering their commitment to ecology and sustainability, do they have any kind of institutional support?
We have good relationships with the city council and the institutions that regulate the mobility sector in Barcelona. We do not have any specific support, but both institutions and we are aware that this service is the future of mobility.
The fleet of hybrid cars at Avancar exceeds 10% of its fleet. Do they plan to introduce electric vehicles?
Yes, we are working every day to be able to offer our service to more locations and incorporate electric vehicles.
How has the Núñez i Navarro parking network helped them in their strategic plan to cover the entire city?
We strive to make our cars available at various points throughout the city, especially in more frequent locations. We are currently in 7 parking lots of the Núñez i Navarro network. Thanks to this collaboration agreement, we can expand our network of parking lots and improve our service.
After consolidating in Barcelona, will they continue to expand to cities like Madrid, Seville, Valencia, or Bilbao?
For now, we want to consolidate our service in the Barcelona market and its surroundings. In the short term, we do not plan to open new cities in Spain, but we always have in mind to grow and expand into new markets.
