Zipcar company, which offers shared and self-service cars, has announced to its customers by e-mail that the service will no longer be available in the Brussels-Capital Region from the 28th of February 2019. It also announced that customers will no longer be able to book a vehicle as of that date.
This announcement is all the more surprising as the company announced increased usage figures. According to the RTBF, the company “doubled in 2018 its number of customers compared to 2017” with an increase in the number of trips by 75% compared to 2017.
The company launched its activities in Brussels in September 2016 and had a fleet of nearly 250 cars in a large part of the Belgian capital. Its coverage area did not extend to the northwest of the region.
Zipcar has also announced its departure from Paris and Barcelona. The decision has been driven by its main shareholder, the Avis car rental company.
Present in more than 500 cities around the world, Zipcar will continue to invest and grow, with leading operations in the UK and North America. It will also develop the business model in markets where it sees opportunities for growth, the company reported.
Brussels Mobility Minister Pascal Smet (sp.a) regretted the departure of the shared car company. “We regret this sudden departure from Brussels, also effective in Barcelona and Paris. This seems to be dictated by economic reasons but we will be interested to know what prompted Avis to make this decision,” commented the cabinet of the Brussels’ Minister.