Sameer Malkhare – Automobile Design Blog

Hi there…..

Its a little late for me to update about the latest stuff regarding my project, coz yesterday i was busy in my class, and they before yesterday i was busy doing nothing special !

But before it gets too late, i would like to put forward all that happened during the much awaited interview with Monique Conheady – The CEO of Flexicar – on tuesday ( 5th August 2008 ).

Some key points  that came out during the interview regarding every minute things about car sharing -

• International experience shows that car sharing tends to work better in congested areas, where ” NO PARKING ZONES” are a common sight.

• Following types of people are their usual Target Customers -

People who already own one car in the family, and need a second car for a particular family member.

City singles ( young people, students, people who live without owning a vehicle )

Businessmen ( Who go to workplace, or urgent meetings on weekdays )

The last category of people are the usual converts to become business members.

• The first car they chose was the Smart ( for 2) because of the its ease of usability, because it matched the urban lifestyle, and because of the 5 star rating in Green vehicle category.

• But people often responded by saying that they can go to all those places where a Smart can go, in the public transport.

• Soon after, the Smart for Four was chosen as the preferred vehicle, until it was discontinued after 2 years due to following reasons – It doesn’t have a standard automatic transmission- and the triptronic wasn’t to everyone’s taste.

• They quickly learnt that people needed a car with good load carrying capacity, for ” Out of town” activities like camping, highway cruising etc, and also for doing cross-city trips without having to use the public transport.

• The company also looked at the standard favorites from Toyota stable – the corolla wagon, echo, Yaris, and the “GREEN” Prius – which to be precise, wasn’t a green car really, and neither it was a good hybrid for the company. It didn’t sport a standard ignition system, which created lot of confusion with the customers – after all – unfamilarity can be nerve-cracking for the occasional users.

• The company also considered the Honda civic hybrid, before finalising on the Honda Jazz.

• One of the many key points that were in the favour of the Jazz, was that it could accomodate a Mountain bike at the rear without having to get rid of the spare wheel.

• Amongst the other vehicles, Subaru Forester was chosen on the basis of customer’s demand – since it was the most commonly driven car by the people, and users felt very comfortable getting adapted to it. Although, point was made that the company would love a hybrid , more economical SUV ( a forester replacement to be exact ) in the future.

• When questioned about the way of approaching the customers – the CEO revealed that they usually conduct an annual survey alongside what they call as – STATISTICAL DESKTOP ANALYSIS – wherein the following key parameters are taken into consideration :

-Areas with high use of public transport.

-Areas with high use of internet usage amongst people.

-Areas of high MIG ( Middle Income group ).

-High population density areas

-Areas with higher dependance on personal vehicles.

Likewise, 5 key areas were chosen initially – Carlton, Fitzroy,Richmond, CBD and St.Kilda.

• Another key point that they made regarding the towing thing – their vehicles are not fitted with tow-bulls, since there isn’t any need for towing.

• Regarding Maintainence – they get rid of their vehicles after their warranty expires, and replace them with new fleet of vehicles. ( say for example – a vehicle comes with 3 year warranty – so its replaced at the end of 3rd year ). – and thereby try to reduce the maintainence cost to bare minimum.

• Regarding Insurance - If the member who has booked the vehicle is at fault, then he / she has to pay the excess amount. So far, only one major accident has been recorded, which is quite phenomenal ! To cover those inevitable scratches and dents which are impossible to pin-point as to who did it, and at what time and what part of the journey, they charge an annual insurance fee from all members.

• Regarding Cleaning – a couple of guys clean the cars on their respective locations once every week where they do the basic stuff like oil change, water change, paint touch-up etc – but in case of detailed cleaning , they take the car to the Car wash. Only 8 cars per day are taken to car wash , at the rate of 1 hour per car, ie. 8 hours total ).

• The cleaners travel in a heavily branded vehicle and thereby doing publicity for the company.

• Only permanent citizens of a city are considered as members, and there are no policies or memberships for tourists / travelers etc.

• The basic difference between the car rental and car sharing companies is that – car rental people want their members to take the vehicle for a longer period,i.e. a week or so, whereas car sharing company doesn’t want that.

• Regading Fuel – they have a fuel card inside every car – and the members can go to BP, Shell etc. and make sure that there is 1/4th tank of fuel inside the tank at the end of every trip.

• Regarding Customer Relations – They have a members manual inside every car which the member is supposed to read before starting on his journey, and in addition to that, they have a column in the journal, and a monthly newsletter for giving polite instructions to their members regarding Fuel usage, Keeping the car clean, and returning it back on time.

• Regarding Publicity – the company initially started the campaign as ” Green alternative” – and it didnt have much of an effect on the population – but they later on changed it to ” Cheap , Green and Easy ” – and thereafter started getting publicity and expanding their customer database.

• Regarding Government’s support – it gave a grant funding of 2,30,000 dollars to the company as a part of their basic infrastructure requirements. Also the Minister of environment went to Boston to study the Car sharing system and gave the funds through a Green House Policy. In addition to this, they provide parking free of charge for car sharing users in key congested areas – which is a huge benefit for the company ! It was like as if the government decided to hold ” TRANSPORTATION” as a key to reduce the greenhouse emissions – wherein till now issues like Water, Electricity had been addressed.

• Regadring the Competitors – only one major competitor exists till date – its the GO GET – which is spreading its wings in Sydney till now. The CEO expressed that competition is very helpful in the promotion of this business coz it promotes the concept of car-sharing- and not anything else – and so it doesn’t matter which company is getting the publicity or larger market share.

• Regarding Company Scale – she was very modest about the fact that there are only 4 full-time employees ( thats including herself ! ) , and one part-time employee, and 2 to 3 casual staff / cleaning staff . They have a fleet of 60 Cars – which are cleaned as per weekly cycle.

• Regaring the Technology – they have a software, which is developed by three people including herself – and is used to run the business – with the help of some IT companies. Then there is a hardware which is sourced from the tracking industry and used to receive wireless signals for transmitting the data. Lastly, there is that SWIPE CARD which acts as the final input device.

• Regarding the Pets -  right now no pets are allowed inside the car – but given that the Pet ownership is on a rise in the city , and those are their future target members – she would like to have a car which can have a pet carrying component.

• Regarding Future Ambitions -  again the humble and modest Monique was excited to put forward that in 10 years from now, she sees her business expanding through major potential spots in Australia and possible New Zealand – and her effort is to make Car sharing an inseparable part of the city’s public transport system – still retaining its significance !