Rent a car for only one euro – with this business idea two founders from Bremen want to take off now Germany far. With Flip Car, they have developed an app that is designed to be easy on both the driver's wallet and the car rental company's wallet. The concept is simple: users rent cars that have to be transferred to other cities anyway.
As soon as a car is available in the app, it can be booked and taken to the car rental company along the displayed route – with fuel and insurance included. So far, this is possible in eleven northern German cities, including Bremen, Hamburg, Hanover and Kiel.
No competition with trains or Flixbus
The founders Okan Gürsel and Sven Gunkel got the idea from a mutual friend who had to transfer a car for his employer – in order to return from there by train. "I asked myself why there are these empty runs," says the young entrepreneur. After all, it's good for the environment: "The car has to get from A to B anyway. And so you don't have to rent a car and cause even more CO2," says Okan Gürsel. "The idea then was to make the service available to everyone."
As a target group, they have especially young people in mind who are looking for an alternative to car-sharing. The founders do not see themselves as competitors to the railroad or Flixbus, but as clever mobility service providers. Gürsel: "Users are happy to get from A to B for one euro."
Current 2.000 users in Bremen
However, if you do not pick up the car, you will have to pay 50 euros for its failure. Reliable and punctual drivers can collect so-called Flipcoins and are to be rewarded: "Whoever has enough points gets a higher-quality car for the next ride," says founder Okan Gürsel. "Users can then also drive a Porsche."
Currently (April 2019), the app has around 2.000 users in Bremen and around. They have already been able to win over the car rental company Buchbinder for their concept, which offers up to 12.000 cars transferred per year. Just seasonal many cars would be needed at once. "We can map around 60 to 70 percent of the trips via our app," says Okan Gürsel. He receives a commission from the car rental company for every car he brokers via his app. Because they don't have to use their own driver to bring them back.
Founders want to conquer all of Europe
If no one can be found for the ride, it is returned to the car rental company 24 hours in advance. "We are already in talks with several major providers," says the founder. "Our goal is to expand the concept throughout Europe next year."All German cities are to be integrated by the end of the year.