Carshare extends into Sweden with launch of DriveNow

DriveNow has launched its carshare operation in Stockholm with a fleet of 260 vehicles. The cars can be picked up and dropped off in any legal parking space in the Swedish capital’s business area. Users check the DriveNow smartphone app to find the nearest available car, swipe their customer card on the windscreen to activate the vehicle, after which they are ready to set off. They can end the transaction in any space in the city centre zone. Outside the zone users can switch to the lower-cost ‘park’ mode.

Users will pay SEK 4.50 (35p) per minute while driving and SEK 2.50 (19p) per minute when the car is parked. Fuel, insurance, taxes and parking costs are all included in the price. As well as operating in Stockholm city centre, the scheme will also cover the areas of Kista, parts of Solna, Sundbyberg, Bromma and Arlanda Airport.

This follows the launch of DriveNow in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September. The Stockholm fleet is made up of the BMW 1-series, the BMW 2-series Active Tourer, and the MINI Hatch (three- and five-door). By contrast, all the vehicles available in Copenhagen are electric, with a fleet of 400 BMW i3s.

A DriveNow spokesperson says: “The plan is to expand the range of models in Stockholm, including electrical vehicles, in the future. There isn’t currently a time frame for this however.”

Fredrik Ellsäter, CEO of DriveNow Sweden, says: “Research suggests that a large percentage of Stockholm residents have a real need to occasionally access a car, without actually wanting to own one.”

This takes the number of cities covered by DriveNow to nine, the others being Munich, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Cologne, Hamburg, Vienna, Copenhagen and London.

Further information at: www.drive-now.com

DriveNow will be offering an update on their expansion plans at ‘the Car & the City’ conference, taking place at the KIA Oval, London, on 12 November.

https://www.transportxtra.com/tx-events/?id=2292