Montpellier, October 12, 2023 – The Montpellier-based carsharing service Modulauto and the operator Communauto, present in the Paris region of France, announce a strategic partnership to accelerate round-trip carsharing development in Occitania and Île-de-France.
Established in 2006 in Montpellier, Modulauto currently offers a round-trip carsharing service in the Languedoc metropolis, as well as in several cities across Occitania (Nîmes, Sète, Béziers, Narbonne, and Perpignan). Thanks to this partnership with Communauto, Modulauto will gain access to the capital, tools, and expertise required to solidify its development within its area.
Communauto, a pioneer in carsharing in North America with a total fleet of 5,500 vehicles, has been managing the longest-standing carsharing service in Île-de-France since 2012. Through the partnership with Modulauto, Communauto will leverage the expertise of the Modulauto team to enhance its efforts to make carsharing accessible to all residents of the Greater Paris Metropolitan Area.
“The decision to join a carsharing service involves a change in behavior that promotes multimodality and a more thoughtful and moderate use of cars. This is the belief that our service has been built upon and has grown with its user community. With a strong presence in the heart of Montpellier and a significant number of users among households and businesses, our partnership with Communauto is an opportunity to expand and densify the service throughout the entire Languedoc coast,” says Olivier de Broissia, founder and president of Modulauto.
“Carsharing is a solution to offer accessible and eco-friendly mobility to everyone. By uniting our forces with Modulauto, we equip ourselves to strengthen our presence in Île-de-France, benefiting the residents who will now have an easier choice to forego personal vehicle ownership while enjoying the advantages of this mode of transportation,” states Mr. Benoit Robert, president and founder of Communauto.
Carsharing, particularly in its loop model or combined with free-floating, represents a practical and economical alternative to private car ownership. According to the French Agency for Ecological Transition (Ademe), each round-trip carshare replaces 5 to 8 private cars, helping to complement public transport and cycling to offer accessible, low-carbon mobility.
Unlike car rental, carsharing offers self-service cars at fixed and proportional rates from 1 hour to several weeks. With Modulauto, you can rent a car starting from €2.70 per hour and €0.41 per kilometer, including fuel and insurance. Rates decrease with longer rental durations.
1 National Carsharing Survey 2022, Ademe
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About Modulauto
Founded in 2006 in Montpellier, Modulauto is a self-service car service for individuals and professionals, available 24/7, with 120 cars distributed across 90 stations in Montpellier and 11 cities in Occitania. In 2022, 3,000 drivers used Modulauto in Nîmes, Montpellier, Sète, Béziers, Narbonne, and Perpignan. In the Montpellier Metropolis, Modulauto is part of a proactive policy to reduce household car ownership by integrating into the overall transportation offering. More than 40% of Modulauto users have chosen to forgo purchasing an individual vehicle.
Website: https://www.modulauto.net/
About Communauto
Founded in Quebec in 1994, Communauto is Canada’s largest carsharing service and the oldest in North America. Present on two continents in 18 cities, including Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, Halifax, and Paris, it operates both round-trip and free-floating carsharing with 5,500 vehicles in 2023. As a socially, environmentally, and urbanistically oriented company, its mission is to reduce the impact of cars on cities while improving mobility access. In addition to its activities in Canada, especially in Montreal, where it serves more than 12% of households, Communauto has been operating the oldest round-trip carsharing service in Île-de-France since 2012, resulting from the merger of Caisse-Commune and Mobizen.
Website: https://paris.communauto.com/