The global car sharing market is very complex, has diverse market characteristics and is not equally distributed across the globe. Measuring this market requires understanding its complex regional characteristics and the various ways operators structure their services.
In this lesson, you'll discover where car sharing has gained the strongest foothold globally and what the numbers reveal about the industry's growth.
How do we measure the size of the car sharing market?
As described in previous lessons, operators run various business models that include station-based, free-floating, P2P, corporate car sharing, and other models. Often operator business models are also mixed. You might find a service that combines station-based and free-floating elements, or one that blurs the line between car sharing and traditional rental.
This complexity makes precise measurement difficult. To get a first picture of global distribution, we can analyze the available fleet sizes in free-floating and station-based car sharing. These models tend to offer the most consistent and available data.
Global distribution of car sharing
According to Berg Insight's market research, roughly half a million car sharing vehicles operated in station-based and free-floating services by the end of 2024. That's five times the fleet size from 2014, when the market reached 100,000 vehicles.
Today's car sharing landscape centers on three major regions: Asia (particularly East Asia), Europe, and North America.
Looking at individual countries, top markets include Japan, Russia, Germany, South Korea, and the USA (combined station-based and free-floating fleet size).
Beyond station-based and free-floating car sharing, peer-to-peer and corporate car sharing have built substantial scale. P2P platforms list hundreds of thousands of private vehicles annually. Corporate car sharing has grown rapidly to exceed an estimated 140,000 vehicles worldwide.
Deep dive: Asian car sharing
Asia holds the title of world's largest car sharing region by total fleet size.
East Asia particularly stands out. Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China rank among the world's top markets. Japanese car sharing operator Times Car alone operates more than 50,000 station-based vehicles.
Strong car sharing cultures have also developed in Turkey, Singapore, and several Middle Eastern markets. Singapore offers a compelling case study. The small city-state supports more than 6,000 car sharing vehicles, giving it a very high per-capita rate of car sharing cars. This demonstrates how favorable conditions can create thriving car sharing ecosystems.
We recently analyzed more than 60 operators across East and Southeast Asia. Leading brands include Times Car, SOCAR, G car, iRent, Mitsui Car Shares, GetGo, and GoSmart.
Deep dive: European car sharing
European car sharing is the cradle of global car sharing. Many pioneers launched services here over 30 years ago, and remarkably, many still operate today.
According to the 2025 INVERS Mobility Barometer, the continent's car sharing landscape in 2025 spans at least 42 countries and shows the greatest diversity of operator brands worldwide. The total fleet exceeds 129,000 vehicles with 62,000 station-based and 67,000 free-floating (excl. the transcontinental markets Turkey and Russia). That's an 8% increase from 2024. P2P and corporate models add substantial numbers on top of this base. European users can choose from hundreds of vehicle models.
Germany dominates the European market, accounting for more than one-third of the region's fleet. The country leads in fleet size, operator variety, and operational history. Behind Germany, the top five markets also include France, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
In our 2025 European Car Sharing Barometer we analyzed over 470 station-based operators, around 80 free-floating operators, and more than 40 P2P operators across the region.
The European top 5 (combined station-based and free-floating) markets are Germany, France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands. Germany alone accounts for more than 1/3 of the European fleet size and can be considered the lead market with its large fleet size, operator variety, and car sharing history.
Deep dive: North American car sharing
North America's car sharing story began in the 1980s with experimental programs like Purdue University's Mobility Enterprise and Short-Term Auto Rental (STAR) in San Francisco. Canada's Auto-com (now Communauto) launched in 1994, followed by CarSharing Portland in the US in 1998. In Mexico, Carrot introduced a car sharing service in 2012.
Selected operators include Communauto, Zipcar, Turo, Enterprise CarShare, Evo, Modo, Free2move, Kinto Share, Punto, Drivana, and Keko.
Our analysis of North American car sharing identified more than 60 brands across the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
Other markets worth watching
Car sharing operations and cultures exist across most global regions, though development varies significantly.
Russia has an estimated 70,000+ vehicles in free-floating services alone. Car sharing is beginning to grow in South America and Africa, but total and relative numbers remain lower than in the established markets of Europe, East Asia, and North America. These markets may represent the next chapter in car sharing's global expansion.
FAQ
How big is the global car sharing market?
Roughly half a million vehicles operate in station-based and free-floating services worldwide as of 2024. That's five times the fleet size from a decade ago.
Which regions dominate the car sharing market?
Asia, Europe, and North America are the key global car sharing markets (station-based and free-floating combined). Top individual markets include Japan, Russia, Germany, South Korea, and the USA.
Why is it difficult to measure the car sharing market precisely?
Operators run diverse business models including station-based, free-floating, P2P and corporate car sharing. Many also combine these approaches. This complexity makes exact measurement challenging.
How large is the European car sharing market?
Europe has a combined station-based / free-floating fleet of over 129,000 vehicles across at least 42 countries (excl. transcontinental markets Turkey and Russia), with Germany alone accounting for more than one-third of the regional fleet.
What role does Asia play in global car sharing?
Asian car sharing is a key market. East Asia stands out with massive fleets. Times Car in Japan alone operates over 50,000 vehicles. Singapore has one of the highest per-capita rates globally.