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Insights and news from the ATOM Mobility team

We started our blog to share free valuable information about the mobility industry: inspirational stories, financial analysis, marketing ideas, practical tips, new feature announcements and more.

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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

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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.

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Image credit: https://kursors.lv/2018/03/13/carguru-palielina-autoparku-un-paplasina-darbibas-zonas-mikrorajonos

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EU-startups: ATOM introduces new white label solution

Riga-based e-scooter platform ATOM was the first of its kind to launch in the city in early 2019. Now, the startup has announced the launch of a new white label solution – enabling independent operators to easily manage their own fleet of shared vehicles through a platform and app. With ATOM’s solution, anyone with a fleet can create their own ride-sharing platform anywhere in the world in 20 days, without huge investments in an IT solution.

July 24, 2019

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Riga-based e-scooter platform ATOM was the first of its kind to launch in the city in early 2019. Now, the startup has announced the launch of a new white label solution – enabling independent operators to easily manage their own fleet of shared vehicles through a platform and app. With ATOM’s solution, anyone with a fleet can create their own ride-sharing platform anywhere in the world in 20 days, without huge investments in an IT solution.

First version of the management dashboard (July, 2019)

“We were the first e-scooter sharing platform launched in Riga in April 2019,” said Arturs Burnins, ATOM CEO. “Thousands of users tested it and we put a lot of effort into making the platform work perfectly. Later we focused on different features that can be customized according to customer needs, as well as market requirements. Now anyone interested in creating his own ride sharing platform can do it easily in any country of the world.”

At a time when the scooter and bike sharing market is growing rapidly, the ATOM platform is the fastest way to launch a ride-sharing business. Individual operators and companies can use ATOM software to launch faster, and to capture market share. The company has already begun working with several clients, and is developing personalized ride sharing platforms. The biggest interest is from the Middle East and Europe, where the ATOM team is helping to customize the platform in accordance with local regulations. ATOM platform is already present in 6 countries with 2 more to come till the end of 2019.

ATOM’s solution includes a branded mobile app for riders, which is already operational on iOS and Android, app for employees/operators and a dashboard to manage vehicles, rides, and follow metrics. The app has a built-in “get a free ride” referral program that is optional and can be switched off. Several user registration options are available – ID card, driver’s license or other documents are required upon registration. Likewise, a number of payment options are available including a wallet, pay-per-ride, subscription and more than 30 parameters can be customized according to needs.

“For example, we are currently working on a project to develop an e-scooter sharing platform where all charging stations are integrated to the app,” said Arturs Burnins. “When the e-scooter is taken there and connected to the charger, it’s not possible to collect it until its battery has been charged to a particular level and the scooter is locked. This project is specific because we are also setting up different speed zones within the same city and few other interesting features.”

Together with the partner, ATOM provides customers with the telematic solution that will allow for the remote control of speed, distance, lights and even ignition. The platform owner can see the vehicle’s exact locations and its ride history on the dashboard. There is also an integrated wheel block solution to safeguard against theft or the illegal movement of the vehicle.

ATOM’s team supports personnel, shares best practice and constantly upgrades software. And it takes just 20 days to get the platform and app up and running.

Original source: https://www.eu-startups.com/2019/07/riga-based-e-scooter-startup-atom-introduces-new-white-label-solution-that-allows-anyone-to-launch-a-ride-sharing-service/

#scootersharing #bikesharing #mopedsharing #carsharing #atommobility

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ATOM is launching a new service

Riga-based (Latvia) e-scooter platform ATOM was the first of its kind to launch in the city in early March 2019. Now, after thousands of rides the startup has announced the launch of new white label solution - enabling independent operators to easily manage their own fleet of shared vehicles through a branded and customized platform and app.

June 10, 2019

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