Toronto, April 5, 2022. Communauto, the largest carsharing service in Canada and the oldest in North America, is planning substantial growth in its vehicle fleet after an exceptional 30% increase in the number of members and overall usage of the service in 2021.
To meet this demand in 2022, Communauto is planning significant additions to the Toronto fleet, as well as the introduction of new, more spacious models. The expansion also includes new stations throughout the city.
In total, Communauto has ordered 1,300 new vehicles from manufacturers to add to the service before summer, despite car industry supply issues which could last until 2023. The cars will be added to Communauto locations in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and France.
“Communauto is responding to the significant growth in demand we saw in 2021 by planning a major increase to our service. This growing demand demonstrates the importance of carsharing as an urban mobility solution that is more sustainable and efficient than the personal car. It also opens the door to major challenges: first, the difficulty of the automotive industry to guarantee the number of cars ready to deliver and second, the significant delays between orders and deliveries. We experienced this in 2021 and we fear that it could also affect the supply this year, despite our efforts. One thing is certain, Communauto has the capacity and the commitment to guarantee the availability of our service and to meet the growing needs of citizens who wish to adopt carsharing, in combination with other public transit and active mobility options,” states Benoit Robert, president and founder of Communauto.
In Toronto alone, 250 new vehicles (+ 60%) will be added before the end of the year.
More spacious cars
In 2022, Communauto is also continuing to diversify its fleet by adding more spacious cars to the station-based service in order to meet the needs of families and long-distance trips. For example, the Kona and Tucson models will be added to stations. Corollas, which are already available by reservation in stations, will also be added to the FLEX service.
The recent spike in gasoline prices is likely to further boost demand for carsharing. “The best way to cope with the rising cost of gas is more cycling, walking and public transit – and supplementing with carsharing,” adds Benoit Robert.
With the new additions, the Toronto fleet will offer more than 700 vehicles to more than 14,000 members in the Toronto area.