Renting an electric car to take a jaunt or just give it a try - that sounds tempting. But apparently it is not. The market community's e-car sharing project is not really getting going. Everyone wants the turnaround in mobility. Why does the engine stutter?
Holzkirchen - 150 HP, five seats, quick deduction, no exhaust fumes: The Nissan Leaf, which the market community offers together with contract partner E-Wald, stands for modern mobility. Electric motor and car sharing - two supposedly future-proof models are here at the start. The project has been running for a good year. But it is not a hit.
"There is still too much uncertainty on the way," believes Eva-Maria Schmitz from the location promotion in the town hall, who oversees the project. When it comes to handling, many citizens lack experience with both car sharing and electric cars. "The big issue is the range and the associated possibility of recharging the battery," suspects Schmitz. "This makes planning difficult." Charging stations are not often difficult to find. The fear of running aground somewhere is widespread, says Schmitz. "It would be important to have a uniform payment system and a denser network of charging points." The six public e-filling stations in Holzkirchen are operated by E-Wald.
Town hall employees in particular use e-car sharing
From May to December 2019, the Leaf, which is stationed behind the town hall next to the mayor's car, covered almost 10,000 kilometers. The monthly occupancy rate was 15 to 22 percent. "Usually bookings are made on an hourly or daily basis," says Schmitz. “You go skiing or go on an excursion.” Loans of several days are rare.
The statistics are slightly "distorted" by the fact that the Stromer is also used by city hall employees as a company car - which is not statistically distinguishable from external users. Colleagues are very happy to use the leaf, reports Schmitz. And experience values are slowly building up. “On short journeys, this is definitely a car that is fun.” Most recently, the Holzkirchner Stromer made it to Deggendorf. The range of a load is definitely 180 kilometers. It should be noted that the car must always go back to the town hall base. The option of parking rental cars elsewhere ("free floating") would be more user-friendly, "but is difficult to implement in small towns," says Schmitz.
"Normal" car sharing is an option
The market community provides basic funding for the Leaf. There is a leasing and support fee of EUR 800 per month; deducted from this are around EUR 150 in reimbursement from E-Wald, which is fed by the rental payments from external users. The contract is still running for two years.
E-car in Fischbachau: usage figures on the back burner.
Schmitz said that they were considering adding a combustion engine to the car sharing model. "Handling would be much easier." E-Wald, although specialized in Stromer, would even participate as a sales partner. But the rental figures, albeit only based on an electric car, make the community hesitate. "We'll wait and see what happens," says Schmitz. The time was certainly ripe for car sharing, but perhaps not yet in rural structures, where car density has recently increased significantly. If there is a second car in the garage anyway, according to Schmitz, the somewhat cumbersome, new mobility offer can have a difficult effect.
