Almost exactly one year ago, the carsharing pioneer car2go opened its first Asian location in Chongqing in southwestern China. In that time, it has become clear: flexible carsharing also works in the Middle Kingdom. The demand for the smart fortwo from car2go, which is on the roads in Chongqing with the brand phrase “JiXing” (“set off immediately”), is enormous. Thanks to unparalleled growth in the number of customers, Chongqing has become car2go’s largest location worldwide after just one year.

In order to adapt itself better to the local mobility needs, car2go merges with Car2Share, the station-based carsharing program in China.

The business region of car2go in Chongqing comprises 86 square kilometers (33.2 sq mi). Originally started in April 2016 with 400 smart fortwo cars, there are now 600 cars on the streets. Klaus Entenmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Financial Services AG, is highly satisfied with these figures: “The successful market introduction of car2go in China is extremely important to us. It shows that our concept of flexible carsharing is coming up in one of the world’s largest growth markets. In this way, we are strengthening our regional, as well as global, leading role in innovative mobility services.”

Olivier Reppert, CEO of car2go Group GmbH, sees additional growth potential for the flexible carsharing service of car2go in China – and what’s more: “Flexible carsharing reduces traffic in cities, frees up valuable parking space and improves air quality. car2go is thus helping to improve the quality of life in Chongqing while at the same time fulfilling the mobility needs of residents. We are therefore convinced that we will encounter a great response to our mobility services offered in other Asian metropolises as well.”

In order to make the mobility services offered even more attractive in the future, car2go and Car2Share are merging under the roof of Mercedes-Benz Auto Finance Ltd. to form the consolidated car2go China Co., Ltd. With this move, car2go China can provide the right mobility solution for different situations. Chen Bing, CEO of car2go China, explains: “With the concentrated power and the comprehensive know-how of the car2go and Car2Share brands, we will offer our car2go China customers tailor-made mobility solutions in the future.”

• One year of “JiXing”: car2go is establishing flexible carsharing in China