VIDEO: Peer-to-peer car sharing accelerates growth

The peer-to-peer car sharing sector is experiencing rapid growth – driven in part by pandemic-fueled interest in road trips combined with reduced supply in the traditional car rental market that has driven prices up – and spurred consumers to look elsewhere. 

According to Global Market Insights, the global car sharing market surpassed $2 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of over 20% from 2021 to 2027.

Turo is one of companies leading in this sector. The San Francisco-based company filed for an IPO in January and last week acquired France’s OuiCar – establishing its presence in that country, along with existing service in about 8,000 cities across the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.

As Phocuswright says in a recent update on the peer-to-peer car rental segment, “While untraditional, there is cause for optimism around the model. Turo has minimal equipment and overhead expenses compared with the legacy companies that own and manage their fleets. Increasing their fleet availability requires recruiting car owners in place of making direct vehicle purchases. They remain small compared with other major players, but the low overhead could provide a foundation for more financially healthy operations than their legacy competitors.”

In the latest PhocusWire Pulse: Green Light for Ground Transportation online event, we talked with Turo’s chief data officer, Albert Mangahas, to  discuss how the company is growing its inventory, strategies for distribution and customer acquisition and how it is working with partners. 

The full interview with PhocusWire's Mitra Sorrells is included below...