More and more business drivers are turning to car clubs for work-related journeys, new research finds.

Access to a car club provides essential business mobility for many users

A poll of Enterprise Car Club members found one in five (20%) now use the on-street rental service for business journeys.

The study, carried out by CoMoUK (Collaborative Mobility UK), also revealed that more than half (53%) said they would not have been able to get to their destination without a car, underscoring that access to a car club provides essential business mobility. A key factor is that more than one in three (36%) say their household is now ‘car-free’.

Another important consideration is emissions reduction, with one in four (28%) workers saying that this is why they use the car club.

The feedback, taken from just under 4,000 Enterprise Car Club members, shows car clubs actually help to ‘green’ employee motoring in several ways.

One in four (27%) are driving fewer miles since joining the club with a similar number (26%) saying they would have acquired a car if they didn’t have car club. One in six (18%) said they now owned fewer personal vehicles while 33% had tried an electric car club vehicle.

Siemens UK is a great example of the business benefits from car clubs. It cut costs by 28% by introducing a dedicated programme – and thanks to improved utilisation from smart technology, it reduced the number of vehicles by 30%. Siemens UK then enabled all business travellers to sign up to Enterprise Car Club’s on-street network.

Andy Bland, head of business rental development UK and Ireland for Enterprise Mobility, said: “We are seeing more and more examples of how car clubs are improving mobility and enabling more sustainable business travel, while also giving employees a chance to experience driving an electric vehicle.

“They create a great user experience, and can help organisations implement progressive mobility strategies that support employee needs and deliver business goals.”