Is the automotive world changing, like the music world before it? Volkswagen plans to buy the car rental company Europcar to get a foothold in the "collaborative economy": one that allows you to drive a car without owning one.

Volkswagen wants to buy Europcar. The German manufacturer hopes to be able to switch to what is called "the collaborative economy". 

What is the collaborative economy? Today, we no longer have something, we just use it, like in music for example. We used to buy a CD, which we owned. Today, we pay a subscription to have access to all music.

And this collaborative economy could well happen in the automobile. Especially since in big cities, we know, it is more and more complicated to have a car. So rather than trying to own a vehicle, why not just use it. It is exactly, the principle of platforms, type Uber, Blablacar, or Drivy - renamed Get Around - which are as many ways of driving by car, when you want, where you want, without owning a car. 

And so ? With Europcar, Volkswagen would seek to organize this collaborative economy? 

Exactly, today, car rental companies have very XXth century models, very "old world". Basically, they wait galore, at stations or airports, and overcharge if the car is returned with a scratch. Not very popular! Hence the recent bankruptcy of Hertz, in the United States. In France, Europcar had to request state aid to survive the crisis. 

But, indeed, Volkswagen sees in Europcar, the ideal tool to try to organize itself this economy of sharing, where one no longer owns a car, but one pays a subscription to have the use of it.

With the passing, icing on the cake, the impression of making a very good financial deal. Since you imagine that Europcar once belonged to Volkswagen, which sold it for three billion euros. And could therefore, buy it there almost ten times cheaper!

And then, the last very opportunistic point. Owning a rental company, when you are a builder, it is always very practical to sell your unsold goods. So many reasons that today push Volkswagen to want to buy Europcar.