Webinar Insights: A Global Moment for Carsharing: Let’s Talk Resilience & Opportunity
In a time of shifting mobility habits, rising costs, and evolving user expectations, the Carsharing Association (CSA) brought together experts, operators, and advocates from across the globe to take stock of where the industry stands—and where it’s heading.
The recent CSA webinar, hosted by Executive Director Pam Cooley, served as an informal “global check-in” for carsharing professionals navigating today’s economic, environmental, and policy challenges. With over 50 people registered, the discussion was rich in insight and honesty, revealing both concern and optimism about the future of shared mobility.
A Global Snapshot of Shared Mobility
“We’re not in a linear continuation of what we’re used to,” said keynote speaker Arnd Baetzner, a veteran in shared mobility policy and strategic land-use planning in Europe. Arnd highlighted that while European carsharing remains relatively strong—particularly in its integration with public transit—North America is experiencing a more volatile phase.
“This is a necessary moment to ask ourselves: where do we come from, where are we going, and what might we need to rethink?”
Canada’s West Coast: Growth Meets Slowdown
Two leading operators from British Columbia—Modo and Evo—offered a snapshot of what’s happening on the ground in Canada.
Erin Sullivan, Director of Fleet Operations at Moto, noted, “Carsharing has never made more sense than it does today, especially given the economic pressures on individuals. But we’re seeing lower sign-up rates and a shift in member behavior.”
The problem, she suggested, might not be the value of carsharing—but how it’s communicated.
“If you don’t already carshare, the leap to understanding its value isn’t obvious. So what are we doing to meet people where they’re at and walk them through that process?”
Amitis Khorsandi, VP of Car Share at Evo, echoed this sentiment: “We’re trying to understand whether we’re just in a lull, where existing users are pulling back due to cost-of-living concerns—or if there’s a new group we need to reach. One that sees carsharing as a solution to affordability.”
European Perspectives: Stability and Spatial Planning
Calling in from a train between Montreal and Toronto, Michael Glotz-Richter, carsharing expert and policymaker in Europe, pointed to spatial issues as central: “A key challenge in European cities is limited street space. Shared mobility can help reduce car numbers and reclaim public space.”
Despite a slowdown in growth, Michael affirmed that carsharing is still expanding in Europe—particularly in partnership with real estate developers. “Developers are beginning to understand the benefit of integrating carsharing into new projects,” he said.
Collective Challenges, Shared Questions
As the conversation expanded, so did the themes. Venkatesh Gopal of Vancouver-based consultancy movmi noted a contrast between the struggling car rental and carsharing sectors, and the growth in micromobility.
“Shared micromobility is seeing more stable business models and increased ridership. Could carsharing follow as a lagging indicator?” he asked.
Meanwhile, Christian Brandt of Modo raised the challenge of electrification: “We’re working hard on fleet electrification, but it’s a wildly non-scalable process. It’s a massive effort.”
This opened the door to a bigger question: Is electrification a barrier or an opportunity to reposition carsharing as forward-thinking and future-ready?
New Voices, Fresh Ideas
Perhaps the most refreshing perspective came from Ale Plaza, a member of Colorado CarShare and previously of Ithaca Carshare.
“I’m just a consumer, but when I saw that you had an association, I wanted to join. I love carsharing. It made life easier as a student and helped me get around affordably.”
Ale highlighted her experience with university partnerships, where reduced-rate memberships made carsharing more accessible to students. “That made a real difference. Maybe that’s something to revisit.”
Her story inspired operators on the call. “We do a lot of telling people carsharing saves them money,” Amitis noted. “But maybe we need to let our users tell those stories instead.”
From Insight to Action: What Comes Next?
As the session wrapped, Pam invited participants to think about what collective action could look like in this moment of uncertainty. Could there be a cross-sector affordability campaign? A shared testimonial series? Greater collaboration with transit, utilities, or even grocery stores?
And Arnd offered a final challenge: “What’s the narrative that helps us reach beyond the early adopters? If our growth is stagnating, we need to expand the conversation—to new audiences and on new terms.”
Whether the key is affordability, coolness, convenience, or real estate value, the message was clear: now is the time to rethink how we communicate the value of carsharing and who we’re trying to reach.
Get Involved
Want to contribute your ideas, stories, or case studies? The Carsharing Association is planning follow-up initiatives and welcomes collaboration. Reach out to Pam Cooley or visit www.carsharing.org to learn more.