5 Trends in European Car Subscription | Mobility Barometer

Car subscription is booming. The number of stakeholders active in the field is growing, and so is the size of their fleets. At the same time, the business models of operators are constantly evolving and seeing new innovations. That’s why INVERS recently launched its first edition of the Mobility Barometer; a free, 42-page report that helps car subscription stakeholders quickly understand key market dynamics, insights, and trends.

In this blog article, we highlight the top 5 trends in the European car subscription market based on our research for the barometer. The trends give an overview and quick start into the top developments in the sector.

1. Subscription adds flexibility to the new mobility market

Car subscription services address and close a gap between sharing, rental and leasing offers. Its main draw is its flexibility to meet clients’ changing needs. This gives car subscription a clear unique selling proposition (USP) compared to other product service offerings.

2. Subscription drives the digitalization of car retail

Retail car sales is often described as one of the last major industries that’s still analog. The highly digital car subscription sales process and customer experience drives the entire segment towards digitalization.

3. Subscription helps to electrify the market

Providers increasingly invest in EV-only fleets or add EVs to their fleets. Subscription often brings users their first experiences with electric cars or newer electric models.

• Examples: EV-only players such as imove or Onto are experiencing market success, and electric vehicles make up a large portion of mixed (EV/combustion) fleets

4. Increased appetite for data

Providers of subscription services show an increased appetite for data to make the fulfillment of their existing use cases more efficient or to enable new use cases and services.

• Examples: multiple car subscription providers are looking for more and more advanced data for operational insights and business opportunities.

5. The market players are getting more diverse

Many startups were among the car subscription services pioneers, but the market is getting increasingly diverse. Many OEMs and legacy players from the car leasing, car rental and dealership landscape are adding subscription offers to their portfolio.

• Examples: the launch of Arval Adaptiv, the success of Care by Volvo or Renault’s acquisition of Bipi

More trends and insights on European car subscription

These trends showcase the major developments in the European car subscription space. For more information and interesting findings about car subscription, we encourage readers to check out our full INVERS Mobility Barometer on European Car Subscription with dozens of data insights.

The barometer includes introductory insights into the European car subscription market, recommendations and summaries of other useful market research, as well as first-hand insights from leading car subscription providers, including aboDeinauto, CARIFY, FAAREN, FINN, imove, instacar, and ViveLaCar.