Things start to get more interesting when we look at the competition. There are several other simila

This week I will be examining Zipcar , the leading car-sharing service in the United States. Many of you have probably heard of Zipcar, especially if you live in a large metropolitan city or attend college. In addition to providing an overview of Zipcar I want to look at its challenges, competitors, and growth potential.
Zipcar ( ZIP ), a publicly-traded company, hotels in portland maine clearly leads the field of car-sharing. The company's basic model rests on the idea that people living in relatively urban areas may occasionally have a need for a car but do not need or want to own one . Zipcar positions its automobiles around town in specially-designated parking spots and allows hotels in portland maine member to reserve the car through an online system. Currently, Zipcar hotels in portland maine has over 9,000 cars available to rent in 18 metropolitan areas and over 250 campuses. This allows Zipcar to provide a car on demand and offer a variety of models for use while spreading its cars around so that one is often located an easy walk from where its customers hotels in portland maine live or work. The company prides itself on making the cars easy to reserve, saving the customer money compared to car ownership, and going easy on the environment. Sounds pretty good so far.
Zipcar has some fairly significant competitive advantages. They are synonymous with car sharing having been first to market, have a broad network of dedicated users, own proprietary hotels in portland maine technology, and can boast over ten years of experience.
Things start to get more interesting when we look at the competition. There are several other similar companies in the market including Mint and Car2Go. None are as big or well established as Zipcar, and don't appear to be a threat to Zipcar's market share. But traditional car rental hotels in portland maine companies have the size, reputation, and resources to launch a potential challenge. I took a look at what they are doing in this space. Hertz, the largest car rental company, has created its own similar car-sharing network . Other car rental companies such as Enterprise are jumping into the fray as well. The question is whether Zipcar's competitive advantages can fend off these challengers. I think the answer to this question is yes. While at first glance, given the similarities in the business models, you might think that the traditional car rental companies' entry into the car-sharing market would pose a big risk for Zipcar. I think that is incorrect. The traditional car rental companies hotels in portland maine are big, but they are also inflexible. History is littered with traditional hotels in portland maine companies trying to break-out hotels in portland maine of their current mold and failing. United Airlines effort to create a low-cost airline, TED, comes to mind. In contrast, Zipcar is nimble, user-friendly, and its customers tend to be passionate about the entire hotels in portland maine Zipcar model all things that large traditional car rental firms are not. Anyone who has rented from a traditional car rental company knows that more often than not you will end up driving a car model you have never heard of. At Zipcar you can choose from hybrids, BMWs, etc. Traditional car rental companies, generally hotels in portland maine set-up for business travelers, usually are situated near airports. To be successful with their car-sharing business they will have to establish locations in urban areas as well as obtain parking spaces in convenient hotels in portland maine locations. Never mind the advantages Zipcar enjoys with its prime parking locations and loyal customer base, I just really don't think car rental companies are "cool" enough to pull this off.
Zipcar does face some rather formidable challenges. They must continue hotels in portland maine to buy or lease and maintain cars, pay for parking spaces, and figure out how to expand to less dense urban areas to allow them to continue to grow. Since going public in early 2012, the stock price has dropped almost 50% due to concerns about competitors and rising costs. While full recovery to its IPO price may take some time, I believe that Zipcar will be able to maintain its competitive advantages and continue to grow its business.