The over-establishment of car-sharing services meant that electric cars piled up in many places in China. It made electric car haters here at home holler and conservationists despair. But what actually happened? - And could the same happen here?
Car cemeteries fascinate
One of the most fascinating things a car enthusiast can experience is exploring a car graveyard. We have been to Båstnäs in Töcksfors, but there are only old cars there. What about new cars? Cars that can be driven. "Urban explorers" are constantly discovering places where fully usable cars are left to the elements. From time to time, photos from China appear on social media of electric cars parked in a field surrounded by weeds. Of course, that has caused electric car haters to triumph with comments such as: "Nobody wants electric cars" or "Electric cars are rubbish". But the pictures are not what you would first think.
The story of Pand-Auto
The white cars with green decor belonged to Pand-Auto which was established in 2015. The company was owned by the Chinese car manufacturer Lifan motors to offer rental of "new energy vehicles" (NEV). In 2018, Pand-Auto joined forces with the computer company Baidu about developing a service for self-driving cars, where the cars could drive themselves out to customers. The program was unsuccessful, but must have drained the company of money. At the same time, China experienced an over-establishment of car sharing services, probably stimulated by the fact that the Chinese state opened up subsidies for electric car-based car sharing. Then the parent company Lifan ran out of money, and Pand-Auto ended up in bankruptcy in May 2021. It is uncertain how many cars Pand-Auto had at its disposal at the time, but it could be about 10 (some say 000) cars placed over all of China. The pictures are from an open loop in Beibei where, after the bankruptcy, there were approximately 20 employees Lifan 330 EV. There were probably several similar collection points elsewhere in the country.
The authorities introduced restrictions
In 2018, several new app-based car sharing services were launched – from cars with drivers à la Über, to services where you pick up a car where you er, and leaves it where you arrive. During the same year, several large cities realized that the over-establishment could affect the existing taxi industry and traffic flow in general (reserved rental cars). Restrictions on licenses were therefore implemented at the same time as several newly established companies were still waiting for new cars to be ordered. Cars they were not allowed to put into operation. Several cars - both new and used - therefore went straight to "long-term storage" in anticipation of better times. Several are probably still there.
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In the past there were bicycles…
]Something similar happened in China in 2016. New players also entered the market – this time to offer app-based bike rentals. When several large cities saw that they were being choked by too many bikes, measures were taken to reduce the number – in several cases more than halving the number of bikes. This meant that several open areas became dumping grounds for surplus bikes. In several places you can see bikes that are still usable, while others have been destroyed in compressed piles.
Use and discard?
I imagine that there are profit opportunities in redundant bicycles and electric cars - either as recyclable scrap or as reuse in the form of resale. The site where Pand-Auto's Lifan cars stood is now empty, although the problem persists elsewhere in China. New spaces are constantly being filled with cars from car-sharing companies and "Über" companies that have gone bankrupt. Many cars have been sitting for several years and may never hit the road. One problem in China is that the scrapping of cars is controlled by the state and their control apparatus. It is the state that decides when the cars are to be scrapped. It must be arbitrarily scrapped after a certain number of years - or if the condition is poor. Without knowing the rules in detail, getting "new" cars approved for scrapping/recycling seems to present problems.
Can this happen in Norway?
Many would perhaps argue that the over-establishment has already taken place – especially with regard to rentable electric bicycles and electric scooters. Car sharing is currently an Oslo phenomenon. The service that most resembles the cars in China is Vy's car sharing, which was discontinued in 2022. The cars could be picked up where they were, and left where you arrived. In accordance elbil24.no all 280 cars were returned to the leasing companies ALD og self-lease where they are now probably rented/leased to new customers. ALD already has several cars out with established car sharing companies such as Getaround og Rent. If a company like Vy's car sharing had been liquidated overnight without a return agreement, it is not inconceivable that a field outside the city would have been filled with monochrome Renault Zoes and Tesla 3s.
Although the car-sharing companies in Oslo notice competition from other companies, there is little indication that we can get Chinese conditions. Firstly, it is unlikely that Oslo or other cities will introduce measures that restrict car sharing - secondly, all the players are probably able to adapt the car fleet to the market. Here it is important that everyone operates with up-to-date cars of various types and brands, and can never be left with - say - 1000 identical cars.
See
Bloomberg – China's Abandoned, Obsolete Electric Cars Are Piling Up in Cities
Share the trip! GoMore has a ride sharing service. If you are going somewhere and don't have a car, you can check if someone is going the same way and offers a ride. Maybe someone will join and share the costs? The trip goes faster in good company!
Car sharing can replace your own car, - or car number two or three, if you want. Many are reluctant to take the step - sell their own car and use a rental car. A threshold is required to feel comfortable in a rental car. It is a matter of habit. The more often you rent, the more familiar you become with the scheme. But one thing is very important: If car sharing is to work in practice, it must be as easy to order a car as it is to buy a ticket on the Ruter app. Then the only difference between car sharing and your own car is that you collect the car from another garage - not your own.
