The car sharing company Greenwheels recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and posted the press release below on their website. 21.450 Cars less on the street and a space saving of 51 football fields, these are the results of 25 years of Greenwheels. The Rotterdam car sharing company was founded a quarter of a century ago to make cities more liveable by offering more efficient use of the car. There are now almost 2700 shared cars throughout the Netherlands and demand continues to rise unabated. The anniversary was celebrated with a unique Greenwheels car, painted by pop art artist Tinus Teder.

Three shared cars, that's what it all started in 1995. Study friends Gijs van Lookeren Campagne and Jan Borghuis found that many cars were not being used efficiently, most of them stood still for most of the day. The pair placed three leased cars (then still white) on the street and Greenwheels was born, one of the first commercial Dutch parties to market shared cars.

Current Greenwheels director Andrew Berkhout: 'As a pioneer in this market, we have already achieved a lot. Where it was first used as a replacement for a second car, we now see that customers decide not to have their own car at all. They use the shared car in combination with public transport and bicycle. We are proud that we have been able to influence the quality of life in cities in this way '.

Mobility of the future

Much has changed in the car sharing company since 1995. For example, the group entered into a partnership with the Dutch Railways, which has been around for 20 years now and was taken over in 2012 by Pon Holdings BV and Volkswagen Financial Services AG. But the mission has not changed: to make cities more livable.

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A car for everyone

In 25 years it grew Greenwheels from three cars to 2700 cars. The company is active in 155 Dutch municipalities, the well-known cars are also at most NS stations and the demand for shared cars continues to rise, both for private and business purposes.

Berkhout: 'Where we used to be especially popular with do-gooders, we have now become relevant to a wider group. This broadening is also visible in the business area. Our ambition is to ultimately make Greenwheels suitable for everyone. We want to stay ahead and think along with municipalities about the cities of the future. We also strive for more and more electric cars on the street. We are already seeing a reduction in CO₂ emissions thanks to Greenwheels with petrol cars, it would of course be fantastic if we could run all our cars emission-free. '

Photo above: Media kit Greenwheels.

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