Andy Hibbert, founder at Karshare (pictured above), stated: “The opportunity to share cars is vast. There are 33 million privately owned cars and 1.5 million registered vans in the UK. On average, these vehicles sit idle 96% of the time. For the many hours they are sat outside people’s homes on streets and driveways, they could be hired out to vetted drivers in the local area, put to good use and generate income for the owners.”

Karshare is an innovation developed by Car & Away, the airport car sharing service at Bristol and Gatwick Airport which allows holidaymakers to rent out their car whilst on holiday, and bills itself as the first fully on-demand peer-to-peer car sharing platform in Europe. The pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the travel industry and Karshare said it continues to work with long-term partner London Gatwick Airport to resume car sharing services at the airport as travel volumes return to pre-Covid levels.

Meanwhile, Hibbert said the company’s services were well placed to benefit from the pandemic recovery, noting: “We’re in the perfect position to facilitate this – quickly, easily, affordably and with great assurances for car owners and renters alike. The past 18 months has seen lives change dramatically, whether impacted financially, socially or career-wise; a vast amount of people don’t plan to return to exactly how their lives were before. And with that comes a question around car ownership and the associated costs.”

He continued: “Our vision for the future is one where there are far less vehicles on our roads, and the vehicles we do have are being shared to give multiple users access for the trips they need. Essentially moving away from ownership toward usership. The sustainability benefits are huge. For each car shared, up to 24 can be taken off the road. Car sharing will play a key role in the move to net zero which will require 50% less cars to be on UK roads and as we transition more to EVs these benefits will continue to grow.”

Revenue hike

Karshare uses keyless technology to make cars instantly available. Renters can book immediately via the app and access the vehicle straight away, with no need to arrange a time and date to collect keys from the owner. The cars are also fully insured through the service and include breakdown cover. The company says the service gives car owners the opportunity to increase their household income by up to £550 per month, which can prove a valuable “side hustle” for those who have seen pay fall during the pandemic, while renters have the chance to hire a car more affordably, sustainably and conveniently than is possible via traditional car rental firms.

Over the past six months, Karshare has reported a 45% increase in revenue growth month-on-month and a 70% growth in members month-on-month. It has now launched in four cities: Bristol, Manchester, Coventry and London.

The fresh capital will be used to expand within existing cities, launch new locations including Birmingham, Leeds and Edinburgh, as well as rural communities such as Strathaven and Talybont, and further grow the team to include more community managers, marketing expertise and fleet technicians. Karshare also plans to grow its engineering team to advance and differentiate the technology for the benefit of its rapidly-growing community.

Karshare’s new investor Nigel Wray commented: “We are delighted to be backing Andy Hibbert and his team at Karshare. Perhaps particularly in today’s age this is logically and environmentally the way things are going. Airbnb started somewhere – and who thought that would be what it is today!”