Israeli Firm to Export Short-Term Vehicle Rental Tech to Europe

Israeli vehicle-sharing company Car2Go, which operates a fleet of vehicles in Tel Aviv and Haifa that drivers can rent on a short-term basis (for as little as an hour) will be expanding overseas. The company’s parent organization, Shagrir, has signed a deal with a large European vehicle-sharing firm to deploy its technology in Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

Under the arrangement, Car2Go will supply the technology to enable operators in those country to manage the vehicles that any licensed driver who registers with the firm can use. The keys to the vehicles are generally inside the vehicle itself, and all a registered user has to do is inform the operator that they are taking the vehicle, and for how long. When they are finished, they simply park the vehicle and leave it for the next driver.

This is the first sale of the company’s technology abroad. The technology includes a management system to ensure that the operators are aware of the location of all vehicles at any time, and the deployment of an app that will allow users to easily locate the nearest vehicle.

The system also includes a billing component, business intelligence components, and fleet management components.

Car2Go began operations in Israel a decade ago, and today operates in the Tel Aviv and Haifa metropolitan areas. The company is expecting to begin operations in Yerushalayim and Netanya in the third quarter of the year, to be followed by Ashdod and Rishon LeTzion.