Critical success factors of carsharing and electric carsharing: findings from expert interviews in Continental Europe

Abstract

Private car ownership in the context of the ongoing urbanisation is creating challenges concerning environmental pollution, high energy costs, and limited and expensive parking. As a reaction to these negative impacts, companies are developing new transportation alternatives to private car ownership. One alternative is carsharing that provides individuals with cars from a fleet on an as-needed basis. In this regard, electric carsharing presents a suitable approach to sustainable transportation and is predicted to increase in the near future due to the potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. This paper aims to examine critical success factors of carsharing and electric carsharing services by performing a literature review and evaluating identified factors with expert interviews. For this reason, we conduct expert interviews with carsharing providers, automotive manufacturers, and scholars in the field of carsharing research from Germany, Austria, and France.