In 2021, the revenue of car-sharing companies in Europe was $3.17 (€2.9) billion. This figure rose to €4 billion last year and it could even come close to the €5 billion mark this year, according to Statista Market Insights data. Similar market trends can also be observed in the Baltics, where it is currently predicted that the market will keep growing every year and the demand for car-sharing services will continue to increase. Fierce competition There are now several car-sharing companies operating in the Baltics, which, with the help of mobile apps, allow customers to rent cars with internal combustion engines, as well as hybrids and electric cars. The company Spark, which is the very first fully electric car sharing company to provide affordable eco-friendly mobility solutions in Vilnius, might be the biggest company in the Baltics electric car rental market right now. Spark was founded in 2015 and operates in Bucharest, Sofia and Plovdiv too. The second largest player in the Baltic electric car-sharing market is OX Drive, which operates in Latvia and enables its customers to rent more than 100 Tesla cars. It is also possible to rent an electric car in Latvia from the company Fiqsy, while the only player in the electric car-sharing field in Estonia is Beast. Vladimirs Reskajs, Chief Executive Officer at Carguru, notes that electric cars currently make up about 10-15% of the total number of car-sharing cars in the Baltic states. "We see that the total number of electric cars is increasing, but it still lags far behind the number of traditional cars in the fleets of car-sharing service providers. The main reasons why operators prefer vehicles with internal combustion engines are the price of electric cars, limited options, a poor charging infrastructure, charging speeds and the battery capacity of electric cars, as well as the unpredictable aftermarket. In summary, cars with an internal combustion engine show greater efficiency within the framework of the car-sharing service," says Reskajs, adding that the Baltic states have one of the toughest competitive situations in Europe in this field. “If we talk about all car-sharing service providers that allow customers to rent cars with internal combustion engines, the leaders in the Baltics are Bolt and Citybee. Carguru is currently represented only in Latvia and, along with Bolt and Citybee, is one of the market leaders here. As for the number of services compared to 2017, when Carguru was the only car-sharing operator in Latvia, there are currently 6 players operating in the market,” Reskajs concludes. Continued growth Egija Gailuma, co-founder of OX Drive agrees, claiming that competition in the car-sharing market in the Baltics is very fierce, but the demand for this type of service is also high. “Although there are many players, the demand is not 100% met. In my opinion, people would use car-sharing services more if they were completely sure that when they open any app, they could get the car in about five minutes. At the moment, especially during peak hours, there is a lack of cars. We also feel it and we understand that in Latvia, 110 Tesla cars are not enough for us because demand is high and growing”, says Gailuma, adding that the biggest challenge in the field of e-car-sharing at the moment is the charging network infrastructure. "Both we as entrepreneurs and our customers face this problem. The location and number of stations is currently quite limited. What’s more, there are many stations that are already old or low-powered, so customers need to spend one or two hours of their time to charge the car. These and other challenges certainly do not encourage people to switch to electric cars, but there is also some good news – new stations with the most modern technologies are already being built”, she says. Many examples Of the entire short-term car rental market in the Baltics, e-car-sharing takes up a very small share, according to Arnis Jaudzems, head of SIXT in the Baltic states. "In addition, companies that offer short-term car rentals, increasing the proportion of electric cars in the fleet, also provide electric car rentals. For example, last year electric cars made up 6% of SIXT's car fleet, while this year it will be around 10%. In general, it should be said that the growth of e-car-sharing directly depends on the willingness of companies to invest not only in the development of mobile apps, but also in the creation of charging stations to ensure simultaneous charging of several cars. Considering the fact that the electric charging infrastructure is not yet developed, the leading car rental companies choose to create a car fleet by combining the internal combustion engines and hybrid engine cars with electric cars", states Jaudzems, emphasizing that SIXT currently serves more than 7,000 cars in the Baltics, of which more than 1,000 cars from the world's leading manufacturers are available for short-term car rental, including electric cars. "In order to provide more opportunities for renting electric cars, it is necessary to provide additional charging stations with optimal charging capacities in Baltic cities. For example, around 200-300 cars are rented to customers at Riga airport during the day. If they were all electric, users would find that there are currently no solutions for charging them after returning them to the rental point", Jaudzems says. He believes that the Baltic states should take an example from Norway on how to develop effective e-mobility on a national scale. "Norway has a developed infrastructure, convenient and easily accessible charging stations for electric cars, as well as a successful policy of taxes and incentives. The country also provides 25% state support for the purchase of new electric cars, and additional support options are on offer too. Germany's growth in e-car-sharing is also recognized, thanks to a similar set of factors as in Norway. For example, Germany registered the largest number of electric cars in Europe last year, amounting to 350,000", Jaudzems claims.