One of the largest car-sharing services in the world has announced it will cease operations in the UK in the coming weeks, with hundreds of thousands of drivers impacted.
US company Zipcar revealed that it would close its UK operations by the end of December following a consultation with its 71 members of staff.
The car-sharing platform said it would temporarily suspend new bookings after December 31, 2025, although Zipcar members will still be able to use the fleet until the deadline.
Avis Budget, the owner of the impacted company, confirmed that it was only closing Zipcar UK, with all other markets "remaining unaffected".
In an email to customers, James Taylor, general manager at Zipcar UK, said: "We are proposing to cease the UK operations of Zipcar and have today started formal consultation with our UK employees."
He also shared the website address of CoMoUK, the UK's largest shared transport charity, to guide members to find other car-sharing alternatives.
Zipcar's exit from the market could have disastrous consequences for drivers across the UK who may have ditched their personal vehicles for a more sustainable option.
The company allows drivers to hire cars and vans near them by the minute, hour or day, and can be accessed at any point.
Zipcar has confirmed that it will leave the UK market
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More than 12,000 companies make use of a Zipcar business account, providing them with discounts, account support and other benefits.
Last year, Zipcar announced that it was suspending its services in Oxford, Cambridge and Bristol to focus on its London market, where it has more than 550,000 members.
Its latest company accounts for 2024 stated that the "cost of living crisis" was the reason for its revenues falling from £53million to £47million.
The decision to suspend its UK operations could also be down to the looming Congestion Charge rule changes, which will be rolled out on Christmas Day.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Zipcar has more than 1,000 electric vehicles available in London | ZIPCARThe Cleaner Vehicle Discount for electric cars will expire on December 25, meaning EVs will have to pay £15 a day to travel in the centre of the capital.
This will increase further to £18 at the start of January 2026, although electric cars will benefit from a 25 per cent discount, and vans will save 50 per cent.
The new changes from Transport for London are being introduced to manage traffic levels and limit the amount of pollution emitted in the capital.
Zipcar would face additional costs of almost £1million once the higher costs are introduced over the coming weeks.
The Congestion Charge's Cleaner Vehicle Discount will be removed this month
| PAA spokesperson for London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said: "The Mayor's transport strategy is clear on the important role car clubs can play to reduce the need for private car ownership.
"This is why the mayor recently announced that electric car clubs with a dedicated parking bay in the congestion charge zone will receive a 100 per cent discount on the Congestion Charge from January."
Zipcar previously called on TfL to accelerate the expansion of rapid charging points across the capital to boost uptake of electric vehicles.
Speaking at the time, Mr Taylor said: "Much has changed since Zipcar set out its fully electric vision: the climate emergency and its impact have become ever more pressing."