New feature that will boost your fleet uptime and client satisfaction – vehicle damage management
March 9, 2024
min. read
Is there anything more frustrating for a mobility user than needing quick access to a vehicle and having none available nearby?
Yes – finding a vehicle on the app, making your way to it, and discovering that it's broken.
Vehicle damage comes in all shapes and sizes from broken scooter kickstands and headlights to damaged moped QR codes and car engine issues. Even minor damage to a vehicle can severely affect its usability, putting it out of order until a ground operations team catches and resolves the issue.
Worst of all, it's often the customer who first encounters the problem and does so during one of the most sensitive parts of the user journey, namely, when they have an acute need for transportation.
As a result, unresolved maintenance issues are not only directly hurting your bottom line by taking one of your vehicles off the road, but they may severely negatively impact client satisfaction, too.
That's why the ATOM Mobility team has added a new solution to the vehicle-sharing and rental modules – vehicle damage management.
Let's take a closer look at this new feature, explore why it's important, as well as understand how it works from both the user and operator perspectives.
Vehicle damage reporting – a better experience for everyone
In the simplest terms, the new feature allows users to easily report any vehicle issues through the app – and for your operations team to effectively respond to and manage the reports. This helps your mobility business in several ways.
ATOM Mobility's vehicle damage reporting feature:
- Increases the speed at which you receive information about necessary repairs for your fleet,
- Enables you to respond to this information in an organized manner, as it streamlines operator tasks through the Dashboard and Service app,
- Equips users with a clear communication channel for reporting issues.
In unison, these help you ensure maximum uptime for your fleet, as well as offer various other benefits. These include:
- Identifying issues that routine maintenance might miss, e.g. a trunk stuck shut,
- Resolving customer anxieties by letting them report problems, e.g. people might be hesitant to use a damaged vehicle in case they get blamed for the issues,
- Giving you better control over the customer experience, e.g. turning a negative encounter with your brand into a positive one through communication,
- Easily tracking maintenance history for your fleet, e.g. discovering which vehicles fail often and require replacement.
Simply put, this new feature is a positive for everyone involved. All you need to do is set it up – let's find out how.
How does vehicle damage reporting work?
On the surface, it's simple – the customer reports some damage and you fix it. But underneath the hood, it's … still simple. Here's how the new functionality works from the perspective of your customers and your operators.
For your customers
In the user app, anyone can report an issue by clicking the “Report” button found on the vehicle card. For the Sharing module, it's located in the “More” menu, whereas for the rental module, the “Report” button is visible directly on the vehicle card.
After pressing the button, your customers will be able to indicate the faulty part, include a more detailed description in the comment field, as well as add up to three images of the issue in question.
The tags that the user sees can be customized in the Dashboard
Your customer can complete the damage report process quickly and painlessly and it wraps up with a friendly thank you message that lets them know that your team is ready to resolve the issue. The system will highlight previously approved damages for user convenience.
For your operators
Once a user submits a report, it will appear in your Dashboard. You can find “Damage reports” under “More” in your left menu.
Here the operator can verify, approve, and/or modify the reports. Once a report is checked, the operator can approve the report and then it gets passed onto the maintenance crew and their Service app. The admin can also add damages manually via the dashboard, for example if they notice any additional issues in the user pictures.
In the Service app, the approved reports appear as a task. When your team is done with repairs or maintenance, they can mark damages as fixed by clicking "Mark as done".
A highly useful feature is the ability to track damage reports and fixes, as well as who fixed them and how quickly – all of this data can be easily exported. This allows you to gain a broader understanding of the health of your fleet and its individual vehicles and make data-based decisions, e.g. about which vehicles to choose/avoid when growing your fleet.
ATOM Mobility – future-proof your mobility business
ATOM Mobility is a mobility superapp that equips mobility businesses with a robust solution for all their tech needs – from a modern user app to a functional platform for fleet management and more. This allows you to launch and scale your mobility business incredibly quickly, no matter the vehicle type.
More than that, a chief reason why many mobility entrepreneurs choose ATOM Mobility for the long term is that they benefit from the on-going improvements to the app – like the feature discussed in this article. Alongside our own continuous developments of the app, our team frequently receives requests for various custom additional features, and when we see broader applicability, we also make it available to our other clients.
But don't take our word for it – hear it from our clients in our latest case study.
Interested in launching your own mobility platform?
Click below to learn more or request a demo.
Blog
Bid your price: ATOM Mobility launches rider-controlled pricing feature
💸 ATOM Mobility launches “Offer your price” - a rider-controlled pricing feature. Riders can suggest higher or lower fares within pre-set limits. Boosts demand & helps stand out in competitive ride-hail markets 🚖🌍
August 4, 2025
min. read
The ride-hailing market is always changing. From Latin America to Eastern Europe, platforms like inDrive have popularized a new norm: letting riders suggest what they want to pay. Now, in response to this growing global trend, ATOM Mobility is proud to introduce: Offer your price – a fully configurable pricing feature built right into your rider app.
💡How It works
Available on all ride-hail projects, this feature lets riders propose a price – higher or lower than the default fare – within operator-set limits. Drivers can then accept or decline based on the offer.
Here’s how it reshapes the experience:
In the Rider app:
- A new "Offer your price" button appears when selecting a vehicle class.
- Riders can slide or tap “+/-” buttons to adjust price:
- e.g. +30% to get a faster ride 🟢
- or -10% to save on a flexible trip 🔵
- For scheduled rides, this feature is disabled to keep things predictable.
Smart logic behind the slider:
Your admin dashboard defines the limits – say, up to +500% from regular price and down to -30% – and the app calculates step sizes automatically:
- +500% limit → 1 step = 5%
- +100% limit → 1 step = 1%
- +200% limit → 1 step = 2%
Slider position adapts dynamically, depending on your defined range. And yes – the button color and style can be customized to match your brand 🎨.
On the operator dashboard:
You’ll find complete control and clarity:
- Enable/disable the feature per vehicle class
- Set custom % limits for price increase/decrease
- Price card, exports and ride activity logs are all updated with the adjusted ride price
- New ride status - Ride requested (adjusted ride price) for transparency in reporting
What drivers see:
In the driver app:
- Price offers are marked clearly (e.g. 🔻 "Discount requested" or 🔺 "Extra fee offered");
- Final earnings are adjusted accordingly and logged in driver stats.
Who's already doing this – and winning?
Real-world companies are already proving that rider-defined pricing works:
🚘 inDrive (LATAM, Africa, Asia)
Now one of the top global ride-hailing players outside the U.S. (over 200M downloads, active in 700+ cities across 45+ countries), inDrive built its brand around rider-negotiated pricing. It helps them stand out in price-sensitive markets and win over both drivers and passengers with more transparent pricing dynamics.
🚖 Comin (France)
A local success story, Comin has embraced flexible rider pricing to gain traction in several French cities (onboarded 6,000+ drivers). The feature gives them an edge against larger platforms, offering more freedom for users and better utilization for drivers.
These examples show that letting riders bid their price isn’t just a gimmick – it’s a growth strategy.
From our previosu blog “How to Find Your Niche in the Ride-Hail Market”, we saw how localisation and user control drive loyalty and conversion.
This new pricing flexibility supports:
- Emerging markets with income-sensitive riders
- Driver shortages, where riders can tip in real-time
- Brand positioning, letting you stand apart from competition
🚀 Ready to lead the market?
This is just one of the 300+ features available in ATOM’s white-label ride-hailing platform.
Let’s talk about how to launch or upgrade your app with “Offer your price”, advanced pricing logic, and more tools to dominate your niche.
👉 Contact our team and explore how to become the market leader: www.atommobility.com
Blog
Is car sharing profitable in 2025?
🚗💡 Is car sharing still a profitable business in 2025? Short answer – yes, if done right. From rising fleet costs to smarter user behavior and green transport trends, the shared mobility game is changing fast. Learn what makes a car sharing business work today – and why some succeed while others shut down. 👉 Real stories, data-backed tips, and practical advice for operators and mobility founders.
July 23, 2025
min. read
In 2024, the global car-sharing market was valued at approximately €8.9 billion, with Europe accounting for over 50.2% of that total. Analysts forecast it will grow at a CAGR of 11.8% between 2025 and 2033, reaching roughly €24.4 billion by 2033. This blend of urbanization, environmental regulation and a growing preference for flexible mobility continues to create fertile ground for operators - yet not every service finds a clear path to profitability.
Success hinges on your location, business model, fleet, operations and local market dynamics. There are strong success stories, but also many high-profile failures. Here’s a closer look at what really affects profitability in today’s car-sharing market - and what you can learn from real-world cases.
What makes a car-sharing business profitable?
Profitability in car sharing boils down to securing enough paid usage while keeping costs under control. Every unused hour or unnecessary expense erodes margins.
Key factors:
- Fleet utilization – the most important metric. Cars need to be in use several hours each day to cover fixed costs.
- Operational efficiency – cleaning, charging, relocation, maintenance and insurance add up quickly.
- Fleet acquisition – leasing usually optimizes cash flow and scalability, but still carries fixed monthly expenses.
- Pricing and competition – too low cuts margins; too high drives away users. Finding the right balance is essential.
- Tech stack – a robust platform automates operations, improves customer experience and reduces support costs.
The operators who win are those who combine solid daily usage with lean operations.
❌ PANEK S.A. suspends its car-sharing service to focus on rental
29 March 2025 marked the end of Panek’s car-sharing experiment. Despite peaking at 2 700–3 000 vehicles, Panek never turned a profit in over seven years.
About Panek
- Launch: Car sharing added in 2017 by Maciej Panek, entirely internally funded (no VC)
- Fleet mix: City cars, hybrids, EVs, cargo vans and vintage models
- 2023 acquisition: Regional Rent (+ 45% fleet), making Panek Poland’s largest integrated rental/operator
2024 performance
- Revenue split: Car sharing ≈ 20 % of total. Traditional rental 80 %
- Utilization: 0.7–1.0 rides/car/day
- Maintenance & overhead: Up to €690/car-month
- Profitability: Negative since inception
Why it failed
- Under-utilization: < 1 ride/day vs. ~ 2-4 rides/day needed to cover fixed costs
- Price wars: Fierce competition in Warsaw eroded margins and drove up customer-acquisition costs
- High OPEX: Parking, maintenance, insurance and vandalism pushed costs > €690 per car each month
- Tech drag: Two-year outsourced app development cycle meant poor UX and slow feature delivery
- No public support: Missed out on parking incentives or EV subsidies
Faced with persistent losses, Panek’s leadership refocused on profitable core segments: daily/weekly rentals, corporate leasing and Fleet-as-a-Service.
🚗 WiBLE Spain finds its profitable lane in Madrid
WiBLE (50/50 joint venture between Kia Europe and Repsol) launched in 2018 and has just closed its second consecutive year with positive EBITDA.
- Fleet: 600+ plug-in hybrids (Kia Niro, XCeed, Ceed Tourer)
- 2024 revenue: €6.93 million (+ 5% vs. 2023)
- Usage: ~1 500 trips/day ⇒ 2.5 rides/car/day
- Diversification: Monthly rentals (€599+) now 5% of revenue
- Market share: ~19% of Madrid’s car-sharing market
Key enablers:
- Higher utilization – rides up 15% YoY, driving a 10% lift in core revenue
- Fleet scale efficiencies – added 150 vehicles in 2 years, lowering per-unit costs
- Service diversification – multi-day and monthly rental options opened new revenue streams
After five years of absorbing fixed-cost drag and depreciation, WiBLE now leverages Madrid’s regulatory environment (low-emission zones, parking benefits) and delivers lean, tech-driven operations.
🚗 SOCAR South Korea: scale + longer rentals
SOCAR (backed by SoftBank, SK Inc. and Lotte Group) operates 20 000 vehicles, generates nearly €300 million in annual turnover and has 20% of South Koreans signed up.
- Model: Station-based, pay-per-minute with average rental duration of a whoping 12 hrs
- Segmentation trick: Aging cars shift from on-demand sharing to long-term monthly rentals (10% of revenue), extending resale life with minimal depreciation impact
By pairing massive scale with savvy car lifecycle management, extra-long rental duration, SOCAR converts high utilization into robust profitability.
🚗 Carguru (Latvia)
30 August 2024: Carguru (est. 2017) acquired EV-focused OX Drive (est. 2021), adding 200+ Tesla to the fleet.
- Growth: From just 30 cars and total budget below 500 000 EUR (2017) to over 1 000 cars (mid-2025) via leasing and strategic partnerships
- 2023 turnover: €4 million; 435 000 trips (+35.9 %); 7 million km driven; profit €375 600
Outcome: A combined ICE, hybrid and EV fleet—backed by local expertise and strategic acquisitions - has driven strong growth and high utilization.
🎯 Core suggestions for aspiring operators
- Target 2–4 rides/day per vehicle
- Leverage dynamic/off-peak pricing, B2B partnerships (hotels, offices) and event tie-ins.
- Contain OPEX via automation
- Use predictive maintenance, remote diagnostics and gig-economy cleaning/relocation.
- Secure municipal support early
- Negotiate parking incentives, EV charging access and low-emission zone permits.
- Choose your tech wisely
- Build an in-house development team for full control with higher costs, or adopt a proven white-label platform for speed to market, stability and lower costs.
- Validate unit economics before scaling
- Prove break-even utilization in one zone before expanding to others.
With clear benchmarks and smart execution - drawing on lessons from Panek, WiBLE, SOCAR and Carguru - car sharing can still be a highly profitable component of a modern mobility portfolio.
If you’re planning to start or improve your service, ATOM Mobility is ready to help. We’ve built the platform and supported dozens of teams worldwide - reach out, and we’ll share what we’ve learned.
Image credit: https://kursors.lv/2018/03/13/carguru-palielina-autoparku-un-paplasina-darbibas-zonas-mikrorajonos
Driver App demo credentials - Email: test@atom.com, Password: driver
