Both Mercedes and BMW (DriveNow as a co-venture with Sixt) run car sharing businesses. In terms of cities served Uber beats them hands down. Mercedes has 14.000

Both Mercedes and BMW (DriveNow as a co-venture with Sixt) run car sharing businesses. In terms of cities served Uber beats them hands down. Mercedes has 14.000 and BMW 4000 cars on the streets (wikipedia). That is a fraction of what Uber can mobilize. For Uber to be taken on they would need to scale up a magnitude or even two. At that scale it would affect their existing business and their now increasing engagement is an indication how serious the companies are taking this shift. Transportation as a service is clearly something. Car ownership is not always the best economic solution for an individual. The sharing demand exists but no one has established a large scale sustainable enterprise around it. What is needed? - Capital first and foremost as cars are not cheap. Two models so far: -- Uber leveraging car owner capital. That area is really opaque but one can assume individuals capital cost is higher than manufacturers especially as Uber drivers likely have not the best credit ratings. The volume Uber can leverage here is - assuming 500.000 drivers with cars worth $20.000 then this is 10 Billion USD. -- Car manufacturer and car rental companies (in the past often linked to manufacturers). There is some synergy in the vertical integration e.g. through manufacturing capacity management, tailored car features and marketing. - Fleet servicing. Uber has managed to shift that to drivers. - Driver. Uber has an individual driving. There may be autonomous vehicles. Then there is the person renting assuming driving license. - Critical mass. There is a focus on serving cities. I suspect autonomous vehicles may be vital to serve the wider area. - Insurance. Liability needs to be clarified and forms of insurance found if autonomous cars are allowed.