Car sharing? In Italy it is catching on, especially in big cities like Milan and Rome, but apparently that's not a big deal for the operators providing the service. At least according to the pocket accounts made by the specialized magazine Quattroruote, according to which the four main shared car management companies (Car2Go, Enjoy, Drive Now and Share'ngo) presented considerable losses in their 2016 financial statements.
Although the activity is now peacefully considered one of the symbols of the new mobility systems of the sharing economy, the picture of car sharing is not at all rosy from an economic-financial point of view. In fact, adding up the balance sheet data of the companies that have recently entered the sector – namely the premium Drive Now of BMW and Sixt and the Share'ngo of the Italian-Chinese CS Group – with those of Car2go (Daimler group) and Enjoy (Eni group with FCA and Trenitalia), the total losses in 2016 amounted to 27 million euros against a turnover of just over 48 million.
A red therefore equal to more than half of the production value, which is even more evident by analyzing the individual fleets. On average, for each car sharing car in circulation, explains Quattroruote, the loss exceeded 4.700 euros. The reasons for this economic difficulty lie in the significant investments together with considerable management costs. In addition to the maintenance and repair of the cars, budgets are affected the costs of the fees paid to the Municipalities to compensate for entrances to the Ztl and parking in the blue lines, both free: 1.100 euros per vehicle the annual figure set out in the 2013 tender in Milan, which rose to 1.200 euros in 2016.
The same amount is foreseen in Rome, while for Florence it is half (600 euros). Turin has opted for a variable part, subject to an economic offer with a base of 250 euros a year, and a fixed part of 300 euros. Car sharing thus seems to translate into a financial bloodbath for operators and a source of revenue for the Municipalities, which do not shine for transparency. In fact, only Rome and Florence responded to the request for data, communicating the receipts for 2016, equal to 900 thousand euros for the capital and just over 200 thousand for the Tuscan city. Considering only the Enjoy and Car2go fleets (equal to 900 and 800 cars respectively), Quattroruote estimates that Milan has collected at least 1,9 million.
