Research Incubator: Car Clubs

In March, IAAPS held their first Research Incubator (RI) of 2025, on the topic of Car Clubs as an alternative model for car ownership. The RI is a workshop that aims to rethink the problems rooted in transport and mobility themes, generating new questions that have not yet been asked.

Compared to previous workshops, this year's RI is a special edition, a new flavour. Condensing what used to be a week-long think-tank into two days, the Car Club RI finished with a Dragon’s Den-style session. Pitches were presented to evolve the Car Club model in seven different ways.

These ideas included:

Easy Share - new incentives and networks to sign up personal vehicles for public use

Reconnecting Rural Communities - a transport system optimised to make full use of existing assets

IAAPS Car Club Living Lab - a pilot scheme designed to take the facility's fleet out onto the roads and into the hands of industry

Vehicle to Grid Car Clubs - a model that supplements the national grid in times of low supply, easing electricity costs when cars are not used.

Community-led Car Club Design - engaging the user in the decisions made for car share schemes

SmartSite AI - a tool that imports geo-demographic data to better locate car club schemes for neighbourhoods

Micro Car, Macro Impact - a push towards downsizing car share fleets: more accessibility for non-car share users with added benefits for the enterprise and the environment.

The audience was invited to vote for their favourite innovation. After the quick round of pitches, and a tea and coffee break for a reflective pause, the Dragons came back with their feedback and anticipated results.

Results of the Car CLubs Dragon's Den Pitches

Micro Car, Macro Impact's success built on an inspiring presentation from Mobilize Power Solutions, an industry player in the realm of mini electric vehicles. They presented two examples of micro cars during the first day which really helped to visualise what a future fleet of car club vehicles could look like. The pitch from the group was creative and clear in its benefits to the Car Club model. What's more, they answered the Dragons' searing questions with cool-headed pragmatism. As winners of the pitch rounds, they were awarded with access to Enterprise Mobility's car club membership for one year, and plenty of credit for car club trips.

We would like to thank Enterprise Mobility and West of England Combined Authority for sponsoring the event and providing their expertise, guidance and insight, the many council members who shared their strategic and policy know-how and all the attendees who contributed to the discussions at the Car Clubs RI.

We hope to see you at our next RI in the near future. Stay posted!