Europcar's “FleetShare” Launches in Germany with Eyes on Europe
With the FleetShare app, pool vehicles can be located, booked, and unlocked via smartphone – around the clock and without handing over keys (photo: Europcar)
For decades, the company car has been a defining perk of German working life. From mid-level managers to senior executives, a personal vehicle has been seen as both a necessity and a symbol of status. Yet, as costs climb and sustainability pressures mount, this model is under scrutiny.
Europcar, one of Europe’s largest rental and mobility service providers, believes it has an answer. With the recent launch of “FleetShare”, the company is testing a new form of corporate mobility—starting in Germany, but with ambitions that stretch far beyond.
FleetShare combines a pool of modern vehicles with digital booking via app, telematics, and full-service management. Instead of assigning individual cars to employees, companies can create shared fleets that employees access as needed. Through the app, staff can book, unlock, and even handle cost accounting digitally.
“We’re giving companies a tool that reduces complexity and cost while increasing flexibility,” said Timm Burmeister, Commercial Director at Europcar Germany, in a recent interview with Fuhrpark.de. “Fleet managers don’t have to worry about procurement, maintenance, or claims processing. Employees handle the process themselves via app, and Europcar ensures operations.”
Why Germany First?
Europcar’s decision to highlight Germany for the launch is no coincidence. The country has one of Europe’s highest company car penetration rates—around 60% of new car registrations are tied to corporate fleets. At the same time, German firms are under growing pressure to cut costs, lower emissions, and respond to changing employee expectations.
Three dynamics stand out in the German market:
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Rising costs: Leasing, insurance, and maintenance expenses are all climbing, making company cars less attractive for employers.
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Sustainability obligations: EU and national rules require large companies to report CO₂ emissions. FleetShare’s data collection makes ESG reporting easier.
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Changing work culture: Younger employees in cities increasingly prefer flexible mobility options over car ownership, making shared fleets and mobility budgets attractive HR benefits.
Germany, then, is a natural testbed. But Europcar’s FleetShare app is already available internationally via app stores, and the company’s corporate mobility websites present FleetShare as part of a pan-European service offering. In other words, the German launch is a starting point—not a limit.
A Digital Answer to an Old Problem
Fleet managers often complain that traditional corporate fleets are underutilized and overcomplicated. Cars sit unused, while fleet departments struggle with key handovers, fuel card management, manual logbooks, and opaque costs.
Europcar claims that FleetShare addresses these pain points through:
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Automation: Everything from booking to unlocking to billing is handled in the app.
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Cost transparency: A fixed monthly fee covers insurance, maintenance, and service. No hidden items, no manual oversight.
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Better utilization: Shared vehicles mean fewer idle cars, freeing up capital.
Europcar also provides companies with usage metrics—frequency, duration, and typical booking times. Fleet managers can use this data to optimize fleet size and reduce costs.
Beyond Fleet Management: An HR Tool
The traditional company car has always doubled as a perk. But FleetShare reframes this, offering access rather than ownership. Employees without company cars can book vehicles for business trips—or even for private use after work or on weekends, depending on company policy.
This opens the door to new forms of employee benefits and employer branding. For firms outside major cities, where commercial car sharing may be scarce, FleetShare creates an in-house solution that boosts mobility and sustainability credentials alike.
“Fleet sharing can be a component of modern HR benefits,” Burmeister explained. “It increases employer attractiveness while offering employees a sustainable mobility option.”
Companies can also combine FleetShare with mobility budgets or job tickets, positioning it as part of a holistic corporate mobility strategy.
Integration and Modularity
FleetShare is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing systems. Via APIs, it can connect to corporate fleet management, HR, or travel systems.
Optional modules include:
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A digital logbook
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Driver’s license checks
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CO₂ reporting, with data exportable for sustainability reports
The modular approach ensures flexibility. Companies can add functions without switching platforms or juggling multiple apps.
Europcar’s Wider Play
FleetShare isn’t just a new product. It reflects Europcar’s wider transformation from a traditional rental company into a mobility service provider.
Across Europe, the company is investing heavily in telematics and connected vehicles. By early 2024, half of Europcar’s global fleet was connected, with some markets already at 100% connectivity. This infrastructure enables the kind of digital fleet tracking FleetShare relies on.
The corporate car sharing market is still relatively young. Competitors range from startups with niche solutions to OEMs and leasing companies experimenting with subscription models. But Europcar’s advantage lies in scale: thousands of vehicles, an established service network, and a strong brand presence across Europe.
Market Potential
The European corporate fleet market is massive. With around 12 million corporate cars in use across the EU, even small efficiency gains represent huge savings. Yet utilization remains poor, with many cars idle much of the time.
FleetShare could appeal to a wide spectrum of companies:
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Large corporates looking to optimize costs and sustainability reporting
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SMEs that cannot justify full-time company cars for all employees
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Craft and field service businesses needing better fleet coordination
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Travel managers seeking flexible solutions for employee business trips
If Europcar can convince even a fraction of German and European firms to adopt the model, it could unlock both client savings and a new recurring revenue stream.
Challenges Ahead
No new mobility concept is without hurdles. FleetShare’s success depends on:
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Change management: Employees used to a personal company car may resist the shift to shared fleets.
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User experience: The app must be seamless, with minimal friction in booking and unlocking.
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Competition: Leasing giants and automakers will defend their corporate relationships, possibly rolling out rival services.
Still, Europcar’s track record in fleet operations and its service-first approach (a dedicated contact person for clients is part of the package) may help it stand out. By bundling vehicles, technology, and service into a single package, the company hopes to convince German firms to rethink the very concept of the company car.
If successful, FleetShare could reshape how businesses across Europe manage mobility: not as a perk of ownership, but as a flexible, data-driven, and sustainable service.