Sharing a car is fast replacing owning a car to become a new lifestyle in China, signaling a future decline in auto sales in the world’s biggest car market.
For 22-year-old Gao Baojun, a car is all about “user-ship” rather than ownership.
Graduating from a college less than a year ago, he has now become a regular user of car sharing services.
“I use shared cars at least three or four times a week,” Gao said.
Young drivers in their 20s or early 30s like Gao are a key market that car sharing companies are trying to win over.
“We provide 20,000 car shares on a daily basis. On weekends, the number can reach 26,000 or 27,000,” said Cao Guangyu, general manager of EVCARD, the largest car sharing service provider in Shanghai.
Booming car sharing business may make people less willing to buy a car, and so gradually reduce sales in the car market.
“One car sharing model can make five customers cancel their buying intention,” said Bill Peng, a partner at consultancy PwC China.
Peng predicted that until 2025, there will be about 10 to 15 percent of car sales decrease because of the car sharing business.
