Achievements and development in the world of shared mobility
What are the highlights of 2023 in Autonapůl
- The annual increase in newly registered Autonapůl users between 2022 and 2023 has increased significantly - by a full 100%.
- We celebrated 20 years since our founding.
- Awareness of carsharing is growing among individuals, with families, freelancers, smaller and larger companies using the service.
- We launched a carsharing project as a benefit for employees not only for corporates and medium-sized companies, but also for Palacký University in Olomouc.
- We started cooperation with the green developer NOHO, whose clients in the residential complex Cihlovka are provided with one of our cars exclusively.
- We met the demand for crossovers from some of our car-sharing customers and added ten modern Renault Arkana cars to our fleet.
- We were able to offer a service to former customers of the ending AJO carsharing, even in the busy Christmas season.
- The year 2023 was turbulent in many ways, yet we invested in new projects, which we launched especially in November and December 2023.
20 years of stable operation
What started as a project of a few families and individuals has grown into a cooperative operating in eight major cities in the Czech Republic with currently almost 90 cars. Last year's 20-year anniversary of Autonapůl's founding demonstrates the stability, adaptability, and contribution of our company in the field of shared mobility. As we expand our services, we remain true to our values of respect for the environment and public space.
At the same time, we see that awareness of carsharing is growing steadily across all groups of potential sharers: individuals, families, freelancers, companies and public administrations. The fact that we are able to serve such a diverse group of customers is a testament to the versatility and adaptability of our platform.
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Foreign travel
The world does not end at the Czech borders, and therefore foreign business and private travel has been an integral part of the service since the beginning. At Autonapůl, we don't deal with any permits or approvals - you simply need to go abroad, you can. Without unnecessary formalities. Selected vehicles with Austrian and Slovakian vignettes make it easier for our customers. Last year, we also significantly added eco-posters for entering German cities. And you don't pay anything extra for them - the "vignettes" are included in the basic reservation price.
It is still true that 2023 was a very challenging period for the Czech economy and demand for many types of services. Unprecedented inflation rates, rising or unstable food and energy prices, or war in our vicinity have put not only sharers under uncertainty but also financial pressure. This was also reflected in lower annual mileage: Autonapůl vehicles covered a total of 1,112,226 kilometres, 7.4% less than in the previous year. However, this trend began to reverse at the end of the year and we expect a recovery in demand this year, also thanks to new vehicles and other projects whose full potential is yet to be realised.
It is certainly worth boasting that last year's shared cars also visited many foreign destinations, including far-away Ireland, Great Britain and Bulgaria, as our map of visited countries shows.
1,112,226 km - that's how many kilometres our fleet (an average of 80 cars, depending on the season) covered in 2023.
News in Autonapůl fleet
For 20 years, our core values and goals have included a high level of environmental responsibility. These are among the reasons why we have chosen Renault Arkana to renew and strengthen our fleet in 2023. Of the ten new cars, most are hybrids, while at the same time fulfilling the wishes of a section of our shareholders who wanted modern crossovers.
The new cars also helped us to cope with the Christmas rush, which was multiplied by people looking for a replacement for the ending AJO carsharing. Thanks to our long-standing cooperation with Renault CR, we can offer our carshare customers stylish and well-equipped cars at a very attractive price.
Last year we also added 15 new practical and spacious Hyundai i30 estate cars, built in the Czech Republic.
Read more:
Autonapůl adds more Hyundais i30 for Prague and Brno
Developing new projects
A new addition to our portfolio of services is our offer for developers and residents of their residential complexes. A prime example is our cooperation with NOHO, a developer in Hradec Kralove, an expert in sustainable construction. Since last December, the residents of the Cihlovka apartment complex and the company's employees have been using the first car-sharing service designed just for their needs.
For now, it is a pilot project to show the potential of shared vehicles as a tool for saving parking spaces "right at the source". It offers households the opportunity to save money and avoid buying multiple cars.
Read more:
Carsharing penetrates smaller cities and launches new forms of cooperation
Carsharing as a benefit for your employees
In 2023, we continued to offer our carsharing as an employee benefit. We managed to start cooperation not only with large and medium-sized companies, but also with Palacký University in Olomouc. In this way, we support an innovative approach to sustainable mobility within the corporate and academic environment.
Read more:
Offer your employees access to a fleet of dozens of shared cars in 8 cities across the country
Partnerships and awards
We continue to strengthen our partnership with Czech Railways. Thanks to our long-term cooperation, our carsharers saved a record CZK 110,000 for their journeys with Autonapůl in 2023, which we deducted from the price of their previous journey with trains of the national carrier.
Autonapůl is a signatory of the Prepare Brno call. The co-founder of Autonapul, Stanislav Kutáček, signed a Memorandum of Long-term Cooperation on the commitment of the Statutory City of Brno to climate change adaptation on our behalf.
Also in 2023, the Autonapůl team took part in the Go to Work by Bike initiative organised by the AutoMat association. Our common theme is urban space and mobility. We have been working together since 2014.
We received an award from the Union of Czech and Moravian Production Cooperatives in the Innovative Products Competition INOVACE VD 2023 for the design of the service "Carsharing to municipalities" with a financial reward.
Traditionally, we took part in the European Mobility Week events in Prague and Liberec.
We are also long-term members of the Change for the Better platform, where we actively contribute to a more sustainable business environment in the Czech Republic. A shared hybrid Toyota Corolla served the Year of Change conference to provide essential rides.
These are some of the examples where close relationships with partners allow us to effectively support public transport journeys and provide innovative transport solutions for cities and municipalities.
Read more:
Bonus for customers of Czech Railways and Autonapůl
Visibility and communication
Our work cannot be done without communicating and highlighting issues, opportunities and trends in transport and the use of public space. Last year, we raised and commented on these issues in 202 media mentions in regional, national and specialist media. The discussions on social media are not left out of our attention. We are proud to be heard and actively involved in discussions about the future of mobility.
We are now also supported by the Partnership for Urban Mobility.
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Customer satisfaction
But the best visibility is always positive personal references, which is why customer satisfaction remains our top priority. For us, positive reviews are a confirmation of the quality of our services.
Autonapůl has grown from the bottom up, so to speak, and we still actively maintain the community dimension of our service. That's why, as part of our 20th anniversary in the spring, we held a roadshow in the six cities where Autonapůl operates. We met with our local sharers and, in addition to the Tesla demonstration, discussed current or pressing topics, often traffic congestion or parking.
We also regularly ask about the satisfaction of our carsharers through surveys and discuss with them on social media.
At the end of the year, we experienced a steep increase in customers, indicating not only public confidence but also a great reputation for our company. We were also able to ensure a smooth transition for customers of the outgoing AJO carsharing business.
Read more:
Autonapůl Guide for AJO customers
Future plans and challenges
Going forward, we are focusing our efforts on promoting multimodality, reducing the environmental impact of vehicle traffic, expanding our service offering and other strategic objectives. We plan to maintain our position in shared mobility and continuously respond to needs and trends.
In summary, 2023 was a turbulent year for Autonapůl (again), but also a year of further growth, new projects and a stronger position in the shared mobility field. We are following current trends while actively shaping the future of mobility with sustainability, efficiency and user satisfaction in mind.
Did you know that...
According to research, each of the shared cars in a round-trip carsharing scheme replaces 15-18 privately owned cars. (That's about four times more than in so-called free-float carsharing.)
Autonapůl users use shared cars an average of 30% of the time each day, whereas privately owned cars are driven an average of only 5% of the time.
Creating space for people. Togehther.