Car ownership versus carsharing? An analysis comparing socio-economic and policy factors of carsharing and car ownership

Even though Germany’s carsharing market has experienced rapid growth in recent years, the actual share of carsharing usage in daily mobility remains low. However, in terms of individual transportation, the use of carsharing as an alternative to private vehicle ownership could lead to a more sustainable mobility system. To realize environmental and social benefits, consumers’ awareness of the potential financial benefits has to be enhanced, as financial considerations are a decisive and under-researched factor for changes in mobility habits. To close this gap, our study provides a transparent economic analysis of those individual transportation solutions by employing a Total Cost of Usage (TCU) model for the permanent carsharing usage and a Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) model for private vehicle ownership based on real-world market data from the German economic area. Additionally, we assess the impact of higher residential parking fees, and the impact of changes in residual values of private vehicles, as well as of changes in carsharing tariffs. Overall, the results indicate a high financial competitiveness of carsharing compared to vehicle ownership in all vehicle segments and across different driver profiles. In particular, the targeted design of policy instruments, such as an increase in residential parking fees strengthens the economic advantages of carsharing and may trigger consumers to switch from private vehicle ownership to carsharing as a more sustainable individual mobility solution.