Car Sharing Platform

Car sharing platform (English: car sharing platform) refers to an online mobility service platform that leverages mobile internet and information technology to provide users with self-service, pay-as-you-go, short-term vehicle rental services. By decoupling vehicle usage rights from vehicle ownership, car sharing platforms enable multi-user time-sharing of vehicles, aiming to improve vehicle utilisation efficiency and reduce individual travel costs, serving as a key application of the sharing economy within the transport sector.

Main Business Models

Car sharing platforms are primarily categorised into the following models based on their operational structure and vehicle ownership:

Free-floating: Users can pick up and drop off vehicles at any location within designated operational zones without relying on fixed bays, offering maximum convenience. With available nearby vehicles displayed in real time via a smartphone app, this model better caters to spontaneous travel needs and currently commands the largest market share.

Station-based: Vehicles operate between dedicated pick-up and return hubs, where users picking up a car from Station A must return it to Station A or another designated station. This model is well-suited for planned journeys such as daily commutes and business trips, offering relatively controllable fleet dispatching and maintenance operations.

P2P Sharing: Private vehicle owners lease out their idle cars to other users via the platform, which acts solely as an intermediary for matching and insurance coverage without owning the vehicle assets.The START platform is a classic example of this model, offering a diverse fleet ranging from performance models and classic enthusiast cars to executive cruisers.

B2C Self-operated: The platform acquires and manages its own vehicle fleet, handling all maintenance and operations while users are billed by the minute or hour. Gofun Travel is a prime example, having peaked at over 2 million monthly active users in 2019.

Major Representative Platforms

Gofun Travel is a time-share car rental platform under Shouqi Group. Launched in 2015, its operating fleet consists predominantly of new energy vehicle models, covering over 80 cities nationwide through both self-operated and franchise models.

START (formerly PP Car Rental) operates primarily on a P2P model, catering to bespoke motoring needs by offering sharing services across tens of thousands of models—from Porsche and Tesla to executive models—aiming to foster a car culture community built on "Love Cars, Love Sharing".

Dafang Car Rental adopts a "sharing + chain store" model, covering over 400 cities nationwide with more than 1,100 franchised outlets, offering self-drive rentals, private car sharing, and rent-to-own schemes.

Core Challenges

Scaling up car sharing platforms continues to pose substantial hurdles. Commercial sustainability remains the industry's primary bottleneck—the mismatch between heavy capital expenditure (fleet procurement, maintenance, insurance) and low average order values has resulted in prolonged losses for most platforms.High operating overheads, encompassing vehicle maintenance, fleet rebalancing, cleaning, insurance, as well as additional vehicle relocation costs inherent to free-floating models.Monolithic revenue streams, where income is heavily reliant on rental fees while value-added services have yet to scale effectively.Furthermore, the sector faces stiff competition from alternative mobility options like e-hailing and bike sharing, compounded by real-world infrastructure bottlenecks including limited parking bays and charging facilities.

Development Trends

Car sharing platforms are rapidly converging with electrification and autonomous driving technologies. Electric vehicles deliver lower operating costs per kilometre and lower maintenance requirements, making them ideal choices for shared fleets; autonomous driving technology holds the potential to eliminate parking and dispatch costs by enabling vehicles to travel autonomously to demand hotspots, significantly boosting operational efficiency. By 2034, the global car sharing market size is projected to grow from USD 11.2 billion in 2026 to USD 28.6 billion, registering a compound annual growth rate of approximately 12.4%.