Trends, Switzerland: An appetite for Corporate Car Sharing
Besides purchasing, leasing or renting, corporate car-sharing is another option for business mobility – “and it is gaining in popularity in Switzerland”, says Peter Frey, Head of Business Carsharing at Mobility, Switzerland’s largest car-sharing provider.
“The corporate share of our business has been growing since the beginning and now makes up about 22% of our turnover. Last year alone, 170 companies decided to reorganise their mobility with us, bringing the number of companies using our diverse products to 4,200”.
“We also notice an increase in the demand for intelligent and sustainable mobility in our day-to-day business. Companies realise that company-owned vehicles are not a necessity. Corporate car-sharing not only saves them money, but also time spent on administration. And because car-sharing is eco-friendly, green goals are easier to reach”.
How does the system work exactly?
“Mobility’s Business Car-sharing has two main advantages, for organizing business trips, and in fleet management”.
“Mobility’s fleet of 2,900 vehicles makes it easy to organize business trips. Our clients can use these cars round the clock via a self-service system. Often, these trips are done in combination with public transport, which is particularly efficient. For example: I could get the Intercity train from Luzern to Zurich Oerlikon and then change to a Mobility car for the last mile to the client. This way, I don’t get stuck in traffic, can use my time on the train to work, and still get there quickly”.
“Companies who do not have fleet management in their core business are particularly glad with corporate car sharing. Our know-how ensures cost transparency and a high utilization rate of our vehicles. We also offer pool car-sharing, by equipping company cars with the appropriate technology. An example: Company X has 10 vehicles in use that have an average annual mileage of 15,000 km. We reduce the car pool to six or seven, covering the excess demand via our Mobility fleet. This way, it is possible to save up to 30%”.
What are the advantages of car sharing? “In various cases it is more transparent, efficient and affordable than organizing mobility internally. Personnel resources in particular can be spared because we do all the work: buying and selling vehicles, establishing a booking system that makes key management redundant, cleaning and maintaining the cars regularly and taking care of insurance, road tax, accounting and reporting. So we unburden companies from running their own fleet - so they can focus on their core business”.
“Secondly, and increasingly important, is the ecological incentive for car-sharing. The CO2 emission of our new cars is only 91g CO2 /km, while the average in Switzerland is at 142g. Plus, car sharers often use public transport, which also has a positive effect on the environment”.
Do companies use car-sharing to bypass bottlenecks or do they see it as a lasting part of their fleet? “Both. Many clients use the option to book Mobility cars for fixed time slots. Companies with a high need of mobility also have the possibility to have exclusive car-sharing vehicles parked at their business locations”.
Do companies have an increasing demand for alternative motorisations? “We do notice the increased request for electric vehicles, however this is often curbed by prices for the infrastructure that are still quite high, as well as certain restraints when it comes to range or refueling time”.
In pool car-sharing, company cars are equipped with the Mobility software. How does that work? “After we equip company cars with on-board computers, employees can book them via a reservation system and open the cars with their company badge. Fees are charged via the platform. So you could say we install a separate little car-sharing system for a company. A pool of no more than four vehicles can make one car redundant and thus lower costs accordingly”.
Authored by Rafael Künzle, aboutFLEET
