Car sharing

Russian car sharing market

• Car sharing the Russian market

2020: Top 10 cities in the world by number of car sharing cars

Data for 2020.

2019: Unfortunate Japanese rent a car for a night out

In early July 2019, it became known that the Japanese are increasingly using car sharing and car rental services for non-direct purposes. More details here.

2018: Carsharing applications are vulnerable to hackers

At the end of July 2018, Kaspersky Lab published a study that showed the existence of cyber threats in car sharing applications. The danger is that attackers can access  the user's account, drive at  someone else's expense or  steal a car.

Experts analyzed 13 Android applications for car sharing, including Russian ones (which are not specified).

Stolen car sharing accounts are bought by those who do not have a driver's license or those whom the security service has refused to register.

Kaspersky Lab found potential threats in car sharing applications

A potential threat is the lack of protection against  reverse development. In this case, cybercriminals can understand how the  application works  and find a vulnerability that will allow them to access  the server infrastructure.

According to Kaspersky Lab, there are several simple ways to break into car sharing applications. One of them, the so-called "person in the middle" is when traffic is intercepted and user data is received. Another method is to match a PIN, but such a system will not work on all applications.

Attackers are already aware of the value of car sharing services, although there have been no cases of sophisticated cyber attacks in this segment. Developers should hurry up to eliminate the identified shortcomings, experts explain.

Kaspersky Lab experts advise users of car sharing applications to adhere to the following rules: do not  leave  a phone number  and email address in the public domain; start  a separate bank card to pay for car sharing  and not store  more money on it than necessary; update the operating system of the devices in time  and install a proven security solution on the  device.^[1]

2015: Research GfK

In the automotive markets of Europe, car sales have already approached or even surpassed the figures of the crisis 2007-2008 years. The generators of sales growth here were experienced motorists. But if automakers want to continue to grow in the future, they need to interest new buyers, covering a wider age range, including young people of generation Y, who cannot yet be called the most active buyers in the new car market.

The interest of representatives of generation Y in technical innovations, according to the research company GfK, will be a decisive factor in determining the future of smart cars in Europe. And it is possible that it is the "smart" functions that will help support interest in buying new auto industry products in Russia during the recession expected due to the weakening ruble.

GfK conducted a study at the end of 2014 in six countries of the world, including Russia, to find out what smart car options (access to entertainment, including video showing, conference call; safety or monitoring functions of the driver and the vehicle on the road, and others) are of interest to certain age groups.

46 percent of drivers under the age of 34 in Germany, the UK and the USA consider the idea of ​ ​ a fully integrated entertainment system "very" or "extremely" interesting. Among drivers over 45, only 20 percent of respondents were interested in such a system. In emerging markets - Brazil, Russia and China - the picture is much more positive. In Russia, more than half of motorists under 34 years old and almost a third from 45 years and older find the idea of ​ ​ an integrated entertainment system very attractive.

Why should car manufacturers and auto electronics pay attention to Generation Y?

The most active drivers of generation Y are between the ages of 25 and 34. In the developed countries that participated in the study, this age group spends about 5 hours a week driving (motorists from 45 years and older - 4.6 hours); in developing countries, this figure is even higher - 6.1 and 5.6 hours, respectively.

Just driving for generation Y is not enough - this process should carry an emotional component. In Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, 20% of drivers under the age of 34 and 10% from 45 and older want to experience "pride" while driving. 13 and 7 percent, respectively, consider "joyful excitement" an indispensable attribute of driving. In developing countries - Brazil, Russia, and China - similar "sentiments": 24 percent of respondents in both age groups want to feel pride, and joyful excitement - 18 percent of drivers under 34 years old and 17 percent - from 45 years and older.

In addition, the study GfK showed that representatives of generation Y are aimed at buying a car as soon as possible. 75 percent of Generation Y drivers in developed markets and 79 percent in developing markets are confident that they will own a car in the next five years.

Frank Härtl, head of global automotive practice at GfK, comments: "The survey results show that Generation Y is a promising audience for smart cars, especially given that its representatives are just entering the age when, as a rule, the purchase of the first car takes place. Manufacturers need to give Generation Y the opportunity to experience these cars, get experience interacting with them - and convince him that they carry a strong emotional component. "

How to "introduce" Generation Y to connected cars, and preferably before potential car owners think about buying their car?

Car-sharing can help - a new actively developing short-term car rental service with payment for the duration of use. As the GfK study showed, generation Y is more ready to use such services than the rest. In Germany, Britain and the United States, more than a third (34 percent) of drivers under the age of 34 said in a survey that they would "most likely" or "definitely" want to use a short-term rental service instead of buying their own car. Among respondents aged 35 and over, only 19 percent expressed willingness to use such a service. Car sharing was much more interesting for young respondents in developing countries: 40 percent of respondents in Brazil, 44 in Russia and 64 percent in China are ready to take cars for short-term rent.

Frank Hertl says: "Using smart cars in car sharing will give the industry the opportunity to introduce the younger generation to the technologies that such cars have. Car sharing involves a certain level of interaction with technology: booking via the Internet, mobile applications for locating/unlocking the car, all of which young motorists enjoy with pleasure. "Smart" cars will make their experience in car sharing even more interesting, which will push them in the future when choosing their own car to stop on a "smart" car. "

What about Russia?

"It is possible that it is generation Y, as well as in general consumer interest in smart cars, that can become one of the positive factors that affect the increase in car sales in the next few years," comments Alexander Kisov, head of automotive practice at GfK in Russia.

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