Is car-sharing unprofitable and undesirable?

2024 has seen the automotive industry grapple with how to make electric vehicle ownership more appealing for the mass market. However, only a few years prior, players hotly debated whether the concept of ownership itself had a future at all. Instead, many championed shared mobility—ride-hailing, car-sharing, and subscription services—as a cheaper and easier option more in touch with the tech zeitgeist.

However, in August 2024, Volvo Cars announced it had suspended its car subscription services in Europe and the US indefinitely. Although the company previously touted its Care by Volvo programme as a profitable and more flexible alternative to traditional leasing, it nonetheless shuttered it to save costs and focus on core product offerings. Could this decision be a bellwether for the decline of shared mobility platforms more broadly?