Zipcar Closure to Impact Local Car-sharing Network

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Company supplied over half car club vehicles in Ealing and Hounslow

Picture: Zipcar

December 2, 2025

Car club users in the boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow look set to face a significant reduction in the number of available vehicles.

Zipcar has announced plans to shut down all its UK operations by the end of the year, a move that will have a significant impact on the local boroughs where the service had become embedded in local transport policy. The company has begun formal consultation with staff and will suspend all new bookings beyond 31 December, although existing members can continue using the service until then. The move follows the withdrawal of Zipcar from Bristol, Oxford and Cambridge last year.

In an email to customers, James Taylor, Zipcar UK’s General Manager, said the consultation process was underway and that while user accounts would remain active for now, the company was proposing a complete withdrawal from the UK market. Customers were directed to CoMoUK, the shared transport charity, to explore possible alternatives.

For years, Zipcar, which has 650,000 members in the UK, was one of the most widely used car-sharing networks in London, and both Hounslow and Ealing integrated the service into their transport and environmental strategies. The company has operated in both boroughs for over 14 years The available figures suggest that over half the available vehicles in each borough were provided by Zipcar.

Hounslow Council recorded 26 dedicated Zipcar bays in 2022–23 out of approximately 34 car-club vehicles across all operators. The borough identified car clubs as a key tool for reducing private car ownership, cutting emissions, and supporting more sustainable travel behaviours. Zipcar paid £300 per bay per year for these dedicated spaces.

Ealing Council listed Zipcar and Zipcar Flex as approved operators and ran a floating car-club trial with Zipcar from July 2020, involving around 20 vehicles. The borough saw shared mobility as a way to ease congestion and improve air quality. Ealing charged Zipcar £600 per bay per year, reflecting its generally higher parking tariffs.

The two west London authorities charges for marked bays were less than some central London boroughs such as Kensington & Chelsea which levied thousands of pounds per year for each space.

Enterprise Car Club and Ubeeqo will continue to operate from multiple locations across both Ealing and Hounslow although the number of vehicles available is likely to drop substantially from January.

Company accounts show Zipcar’s UK income dropped by 10% to £47m last year, while post-tax losses increased to £11.6m. The cost-of-living crisis, reduced leisure travel, and the expense of electrifying its fleet all contributed to financial strain according to the company's statement. It had already been forced to reduced its headcount from 91 to 72 over the last year.

Zipcar’s owner, Avis Budget, has been facing severe financial difficulties internationally. A spokesperson for Avi said the proposal formed part of a plan to streamline operations, improve returns and position the company for long term sustainability and growth.

Electric vehicles, which are widely used by car clubs, proved expensive to purchase and depreciated in value quickly. It has been reported that around 1,000 vehicles in Zipcar's fleet are London-based EVs. At the same time, competition from Uber, e-bikes, cargo bikes, and retailer delivery services pulled customers away from short Zipcar journeys.

The extension of the £13.50 Congestion Charge to electric vehicles from the beginning of next year was estimated to add around £1m per year to Zipcar’s costs. The company had announced its intention to pass this charge on to drivers, whereas previously it had offered a relatively inexpensive way to travel into central London. It is estimated that 3,000 of the company's 6,500 fleet and over half its customers are based in London.

The company claimed each of its cars or vans removed 27 privately owned vehicles from the road, below the 31 claimed by CoMoUK, the car club industry representative body. It has over 12,000 business customers including several hospitals which partnered with Zipcar to support staff travel.

Enterprise Car Club, Ubeeqo, Hiyacar and other smaller operators may attempt to expand into the space Zipcar leaves behind, but the sector faces the same regulatory and financial challenges. London’s fragmented system, where car-club licences must be negotiated borough by borough, made it difficult to operate at scale, an issue that has been raised by other transport related companies such as e-bike providers.

CoMoUK said in response to the ZipCar announcement, "We need coherent car and lift sharing plans across London, as this news clearly demonstrates. The departure would also have a significant impact beyond London, harming attempts to provide more low-cost access to EVs and support public and active transport."

Sir Sadiq Khan’s spokesperson said the Mayor would “wait to see the outcome of Zipcar’s consultation”, emphasising that the Mayor’s Transport Strategy still recognises the importance of car clubs in cutting private car ownership. From January, electric car-club vehicles with a dedicated bay in the Congestion Charge Zone will receive a 100% discount. This only applies if the vehicle is picked up and reparked in the same bay.

We have asked for comment from both Ealing and Hounslow councils about the Zipcar closure.

 

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