Automakers are making their own forays into the digital space. Once the domain of third parties, carmakers themselves are getting into the game. Here we briefly look at the strategic partnerships, pilots and internally-led innovations carmakers are working on, as well as new business models for car sharing (wherein multiple parties own one car, or a corporation owns a car and rents it out fractionally, permitting use by a larger group of people). 

Car sharing services by big automakers signal a shift from sole ownership to mesh-based, shared ownership. 

 BMW - Drivenow

• Uses BMW and MINI’s own vehicles
• Uses an hourly rental rate akin to Zipcar, but allows pick up and drop off at different locations, rather than requiring a roundtrip

Daimler - Car2Go

• Uses Daimler’s Smart brand vehicles, which are uniquely designed for urban use
• Uses an hourly rental rate akin to Zipcar, but allows pick up and drop off at different locations, rather than requiring a roundtrip
• Employees staff to shuffle car locations to areas of most demand

GM: Maven

• Mirrors Zipcar’s model (central owner, per-hour rentals)
• Speculation that this, along with GM’s investment in Uber competitor Lyft, are part of a larger move to create demand for driverless cars

Ford + Getaround Pilot

• Ford partnered with peer-to-peer carsharing service Getaround to test new business models

Ford Multi-User Leasing Pilot

• Allows car sharing up to six ways
• Provides some basic scheduling support

Excerpted from Causeit's article, Digital Platforms for Automobility

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