On the benefit of combining car rental and car sharing

Abstract Car rental and car sharing are two established mobility concepts which traditionally have been offered by specialized providers. Presumably to increase utilization and profitability, most recently, car rental providers began to offer car sharing in addition, and vice versa. To assess and quantify benefits and drawbacks of combining both into a single mobility concept with one common fleet, we consider such combined systems on an aggregate level, replicating demand patterns and rentals throughout a typical week. Our systematic approach reflects that, depending on a provider’s status quo, different business practices exist, for example with regard to the applied revenue management approaches. Methodologically, our analyses base on mathematical optimization. We propose several models that consider the different business practices and degrees to which the respective new mobility concept is offered. To support mobility providers in their strategic decision-making, we derive managerial insights based on numerical studies that use real-life data.