Mobile Toilet Shared Car

Shared cars are called 'mobile toilets' mainly due to the extremely poor hygiene conditions inside the vehicles during use, but their decline is the result of multiple factors working together.

Prominent Hygiene Issues: Shared cars were once hailed as the first car for young people but later derisively referred to as 'mobile toilets' due to the appalling hygiene conditions inside during use. For example, there were excreta in the trunk, chewing gum stuck to the seats, and used tissues hanging from the steering wheel. These unhygienic phenomena severely affected the user experience and tarnished the image of the shared car industry.

Business Model Flaws: Shared cars belong to the capital-intensive industry, with high vehicle costs. In addition to the purchase cost, daily expenses such as depreciation, insurance, maintenance, dispatching, cleaning, and charging station配套 (supporting facilities) are substantial. However, the prices paid by users often fail to cover these costs, making it difficult for companies to turn a profit. These flaws in the business model place enormous economic pressure on shared car companies during their operations.

Limited Usage Scenarios: Unlike shared bicycles, which can be parked anywhere without the need for docking stations, cars face a scarcity of parking spaces, and dedicated parking spots are inconvenient for users. In the early days, new energy vehicles had short ranges and few charging stations, further limiting the usage scenarios of shared cars and reducing users' willingness to use them.

User Behavior Problems: Some users behave inappropriately, such as using shared cars for long-distance travel, speeding and drifting at night, or dismantling the central control screens, causing severe damage to the vehicles. This not only increases the maintenance costs for companies but also affects the experience of other users. Taking LianDongYun as an example, the extremely low usage threshold leads to a wide gap in user quality, and inappropriate use accelerates the vehicle's报废 (scrapping) speed.

Corporate Crises: Taking LianDongYun as an example, Baoneng's liquidity crisis became the core reason for its collapse. After 2019, leading players such as GoFun, Togo, and EVCARD gradually scaled back or withdrew, and shared cars ultimately became 'mobile toilets' in cities.