Corporate car sharing: advantages for companies, fleets and drivers

Picture of Hans-Joachim Guth
Hans-Joachim Guth
A woman uses her smartphone in front of a company vehicle. Corporate car sharing enables flexible, efficient and legally compliant vehicle use thanks to digital fleet solutions from Carano. Companies benefit from lower costs, optimized capacity utilization and sustainable fleet management.
A woman uses her smartphone in front of a company vehicle. Corporate car sharing enables flexible, efficient and legally compliant vehicle use thanks to digital fleet solutions from Carano. Companies benefit from lower costs, optimized capacity utilization and sustainable fleet management.

Many companies are looking for ways to improve the mobility of their employees and reduce costs at the same time. The use of corporate car sharing can be a suitable solution for fleet managers to reconcile these goals. According to the Arval Fleet Barometer 2024, 23% of companies surveyed already use corporate car sharing solutions or at least plan to introduce them within the next three years. In this article, we show how corporate car sharing can make fleet management more efficient and what benefits it can bring in terms of cost savings, flexibility and sustainability.

Contents

What is corporate car sharing?

Corporate car sharing is the internal sharing of company cars in the fleet. The existing vehicles are no longer tied to one person, but are available to several employees and can be used flexibly as needed. In many companies, vehicle pooling has already established itself as an alternative to rental cars or buying your own car.

What types of corporate car sharing are there?

Which model a company chooses depends on many factors. This includes, for example, the organization of the company or the number of locations. Corporate car sharing can be organized in two different ways:

  • Station-based car sharing, where the vehicles are only available for use at a specific point and must be returned to this point after the journey.
  • As a free-floating model that allows vehicles to be borrowed and used in a specific area or at different company locations.
CaranoCloud ist das Komplettpaket für Carsharing im Fuhrpark

Your complete package for car sharing in your fleet

From vehicle booking and flexible vehicle access to legal compliance, our CaranoCloud car sharing software helps you manage your pool vehicles efficiently.

Corporate car sharing in the fleet

Vehicle pooling is a good way for companies to reduce fleet costs and support sustainability goals within the company. Especially in companies where employees rarely or irregularly use company vehicles, a vehicle pool can be used to increase fleet utilization and boost efficiency. Fleets that are mainly used for short journeys also benefit from such a concept. However, if companies mainly use special vehicles that require special driver qualifications, company vehicle sharing can only be implemented to a limited extent.

Corporate car sharing can also be an interim mobility solution for fleets . Interim mobility solutions are used in fleet management to bridge vehicle bottlenecks that arise during maintenance work or when switching to a new vehicle fleet. According to the DAT Barometer 2024, 86% of fleet managers surveyed already use car sharing solutions to ensure employee mobility in the event of short-term bottlenecks.

One person opens the door of a vehicle with a car key. Corporate car sharing with Carano enables simple, digital management of shared company vehicles. Companies benefit from more flexibility, reduced fleet costs and optimal vehicle utilization - efficient, legally compliant and controllable via mobile app.
Corporate car sharing helps to increase vehicle utilization and reduce costs.

Advantages of corporate car sharing at a glance

Company vehicle sharing offers companies a flexible way to increase the efficiency of their vehicle fleet and specifically promote sustainability goals within the company. The following four advantages show how companies can specifically benefit from a vehicle pooling concept and achieve their fleet goals.

The graphic shows five advantages of corporate car sharing: saving costs, reducing the number of vehicles, lowering environmental impact, increasing employee satisfaction and improving the corporate image. Carano provides support with digital solutions for efficient, sustainable fleet management and helps companies to make optimum use of resources while achieving ecological and economic goals.

1. cost savings due to fewer vehicles in the fleet

Procuring new vehicles can cause problems. Long delivery times, a lack of choice and rising prices make the work of fleet managers extremely difficult. In many cases, however, there is no need to keep adding new vehicles. Most fleet vehicles are not used permanently and spend most of their time parked on company premises. This reduces vehicle usage and leads to lower mileage. Company vehicle sharing helps to better utilize the vehicle fleet by allowing different employees to use a vehicle as required. In many cases, this can reduce the actual number of vehicles available in the fleet.

With fewer vehicles in the fleet, companies have significantly lower expenses in the areas of vehicle purchase, maintenance, servicing and insurance. Compared to the classic company car concept, a sharing solution is often cheaper to administer.

2. promotion of environmental friendliness

Corporate car sharing can contribute to a company’s sustainability in various ways. By promoting the shared use of vehicles, companies can reduce their consumption of resources in a targeted manner. Existing vehicles can be optimally utilized through the sharing concept, which means that a smaller number of vehicles are required in the fleet. The financial resources saved can also be used to promote other internal company projects in the area of sustainability.

When switching to corporate car sharing, it can also be worthwhile implementing electric vehicles at the same time. Thanks to their high mileage and low maintenance costs, electric vehicles are an interesting alternative for sustainable mobility in the vehicle fleet.

3. increase in employee satisfaction

Employees who use a company car often enjoy a higher degree of flexible mobility, which can have a positive impact on employee satisfaction. Until now, having their own company car has been an important incentive for many employees. After all, a new vehicle is considered a status symbol in many circles.

However, younger companies in particular are now increasingly focusing on corporate mobility that involves as many employees as possible. This new flexibility is reflected in the increased use of electric vehicles, electric bicycles, electric scooters and corporate car sharing. In this context, employees who are not provided with a company car can also benefit from the flexible mobility solution. This increases the satisfaction of more and more employees.

4. enhancement of the company image

Company car sharing can be an effective way of improving your own image. This is because companies show interest in the needs of their employees and integrate new, innovative ways to make corporate mobility more efficient. By reducing environmental pollution and making effective use of resources, companies can benefit from an innovative and sustainable image.

Car sharing with CaranoCloud

Guidebook: Corporate car sharing as a success factor

Download our free guide to learn more about the benefits of corporate car sharing and how software can help you.

Organize pool cars: Outlook calendar vs. car sharing software

An Outlook calendar can be a simple and cost-effective way to manage company car bookings. However, fleet managers quickly reach their limits when using Outlook. It is not possible to create detailed evaluations, the overview of the fleet is limited and this approach is also problematic in terms of data protection.

To make the most of the benefits of corporate car sharing, an efficient and new approach is crucial. Car sharing software facilitates the management and booking of pool vehicles and ensures greater transparency. A variety of functions, such as the automation of reservation and booking processes or evaluations to optimize the use of vehicles, can be very valuable for fleet managers. A comparison of an Outlook calendar with professional car sharing software shows that the latter has a number of advantages for effective fleet management.

In contrast to a simple Outlook calendar, professional car sharing software offers a more efficient and comprehensive way to manage and organize corporate car sharing in your own fleet.

The software enables companies to make better use of their resources and save costs, while at the same time ensuring greater transparency in the fleet.

FAQ - Corporate Carsharing

The corporate car sharing software enables the clear management and booking of vehicles within a company so that different employees can use them as required. This makes vehicle management structured and uncomplicated – for fleet managers and employees alike.

The private use of pool vehicles is permitted if it is regulated in a usage agreement. Often, certain conditions or restrictions apply, such as fixed times or additional requirements. In addition, private use must generally be correctly recorded in the logbook in order to make the separation between business and private journeys traceable.

It reduces the need for companies to purchase a large number of vehicles, as the vehicles are used as required. This lowers the costs for acquisition, maintenance, servicing and insurance.

Company car sharing is a solution in which employees of a company use vehicles flexibly and jointly for business purposes. A car subscription, on the other hand, offers individuals or companies an exclusive vehicle for a monthly flat rate, including all ancillary costs.

Companies can either use their own vehicles or rent them from providers. The corporate car sharing provider makes the vehicles available so that no investment in the company’s own fleet is necessary. This solution is particularly advantageous for smaller companies.

Contact us today and find out how our fleet software can make your fleet management easier!

Written for you by

Picture of Hans-Joachim Guth
Hans-Joachim Guth

studied business administration with a focus on human resources and organization in Berlin. He was then employed as a consultant and later as Head of Product Management at the management consultancy Hiepler und Partner GmbH. Through this work, he gained extensive expertise in the areas of fleet management, consulting and advisory services.

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