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It’s really a smart move and it’s coming from the pioneer of urban mobility, smart, a division of Mercedes-Benz Cars . Smarting from its presentation at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, smart’s latest service, ‘smart ready to share’, which makes private car sharing as simple, safe and uncomplicated , is set to be launched in select German cities from this January.
Yet another project to emerge from the corporate strategy, CASE, the acronym representing the strategic future fields for Mercedes Benz Cars, namely ‘Connected’, ‘Autonomous’, ‘Shared & Service’ and ‘Electric drive’, with ‘smart ready to share’, authorised users can open and drive away a friend’s smart in a matter of seconds using a smartphone.
Recall that in 2008, car2go was launched as the world’s first free-floating car sharing system, and it is enjoying success around the world till today.
And now, smart vehicles can be hired at affordable prices at any time of day in 29 different cities in Germany. From this January, the mobility pioneer smart will be making another bold move that ties in with the sharing economy megatrend as ‘smart ready to share’ introduces the possibility of private car sharing.
According to smart, the service is targeted not only at young people but also at freelancers and small business owners who will be able to use the system to manage their fleets efficiently.
It is important to note that car sharing is already transforming the way people see vehicles.
And smart boss, Dr. Annette Winkler, attests to this.
”In today’s society, many people have begun to make the switch from an I-centric to a we-centric mindset,” Winkler said. “The new culture of sharing is resource-friendly, ecological and sustainable – and has already made inroads into the car world.”
According to Winkler, “The private ‘smart ready to share’ car sharing service is designed to enhance the quality of life in cities. What we are launching here is nothing less than the Airbnb of the car sector.”
The Mercedes-Benz Cars division is hinging the uniqueness of its new service on three factors, saying these make ’smart ready to share’ unique. The factors, according to smart, are:
• the security of a solution provided by the manufacturer
• complete control by the vehicle owner as the sole administrator and decision maker
• simple and cost-effective use
According to the company’s plans, ‘smart ready to share’ will initially launch as an optional extra alongside ‘smart ready to drop’, the biggest in-car parcel delivery trial ever to take place in Germany.
From early 2017, participants in this beta test will be able to try out ‘smart ready to share’ and lend their smart to friends, colleagues and relatives.
Already, ‘smart ready to drop’ has several hundred participants in Stuttgart and Cologne with Berlin and Bonn set to launch this month.
Simple, safe and straightforward usage via an app
“smart ready to share” is smartphone-based and uses the vehicle’s Keyless Entry function. The connectivity box behind the windscreen communicates with the “smart ready to” app for which “smart ready to drop” participants have already registered.
In the next step the smart owner can enter the times when the vehicle will be available and invite friends and colleagues to use it. The friends and colleagues will be sent an email, allowing them to register and create an account. The people defined by the smart driver can then book the vehicle via the app and open it with their smartphone. The app acts as a digital vehicle log, making car sharing straightforward, transparent and safe for all users.
The smart owner can also activate a ‘Home zone’, specifying where the vehicle should be returned to.
As a final step, the owner must ensure that a vehicle key is left inside the smart so that the activated users can drive it. At the end of the trip, the vehicle is locked via the app and the booking is ended. The vehicle is then released again for all other users.
During the beta test, smart is taking on the cost of any additional insurance required. When the service is launched to the wider public, it is planned that vehicle owners will have the opportunity to share not only the vehicle with other users but its costs, too. The ‘smart ready to’ app will, in future, make calculating costs a simple and straightforward process.
New service strategy
‘smart ready to’ stands for a range of innovative services designed to make life in the city easier. This new smart service strategy already includes:
• the hire concept ‘smart ready to rent’, which offers mobility tailored to city requirements. The entire smart model range can be hired from dealerships on a flexible basis, including the new smart electric drive models. The new hire concept was launched in several German and French cities at the beginning of December. Possible hire periods range from one day to three months.
• the in-car delivery service ‘smart ready to drop’, where the smart boot is used as a drop box for parcels. This innovative service makes online shopping significantly easier. The smart collaboration with DHL enables parcels to be delivered to the boot of your car. The beta test is already running in Stuttgart and Cologne, and will begin this month in Berlin and Bonn. The service will eventually be offered in seven German cities.
• the parking space service ‘ready to park+’, which was introduced in March 2016. All the user has to do is register for free with the parking space sharing service, ampido, and they will be able to benefit from central, smart-exclusive parking spaces in Cologne and Munich. All available parking spaces are displayed in the app, along with their distance and tariff, and can be booked to suit requirements. After reserving and paying for the space online, the smart driver can navigate to the parking space and open the barriers there using their smartphone.
smart established the smart lab to accelerate the development and implementation of such creative urban mobility projects.
The smart lab is the brand’s think tank. The easy-going and unconventional start-up mentality of the lab’s creative employees is what enables this innovative platform to drive new mobility ideas.
