Car sharing, a form of short-term vehicle rental on an hourly or minute basis, is gaining popularity in major Korean cities as more individuals are recognizing it as a sustainable means of urban transportation.

Further adding to the momentum, the Seoul Metropolitan Government in February launched a pilot car sharing service, dubbed Nanum Car (meaning “sharing” in Korean), to reduce the number of cars on the road as well as ease households’ financial burdens linked to car ownership.

“Membership for the Seoul car sharing service has grown faster than expected (over the past six months),” car sharing service provider SoCar CEO Kim Ji-mahn told the Korea Herald in a recent interview.

SoCar is a partner firm for Seoul’s Nanum project. Its membership reached 300,000 people as of September.

“Seoul citizens in their 20s and 30s who don’t want to be burdened by the costs of car ownership, but have a variety of demands for short-term car use in their urban lives, have driven the fast growth,’’ Kim said. 

The company has built a portfolio of small-sized imported cars to meet the sophisticated tastes of its main customer group of drivers who care about not only service charges but also the car’s design and style.

The 38-year-old entrepreneur, who founded SoCar in Jejudo Island in 2011, expects that the company will achieve 30 billion won ($28.5 million) in sales by the end of this year and reach the break-even point next year.

“Behind the rapid business success is Internet and smartphone technology, which offers users immediate access to services and easy booking,’’ Kim said.

“The integration of the company’s services with smart solutions makes using shared cars more affordable, convenient and secure.”

SoCar users ― including foregners with a Korean driver’s license ― can easily book a car on the move through the SoCar app and use their smartphone as a digital key to lock or unlock the doors of their rental car.

To attract city dwellers, the company also has made all-out efforts to secure spaces for parking spots in six major cities, including Seoul, Daegu, Busan and Ulsan.

“We are beating our rivals by offering users an easy access to shared vehicles by securing 780 zones nationwide,’’ Kim said.

Kim projected a positive outlook for the future of the car sharing business, saying that such services will evolve over time to meet different needs of user groups living in urban or rural areas, replacing car ownership.

“In line with the rising demand for car sharing on the global level, the company has plans to tap overseas markets that have similar environment for car sharing business with Korea,’’ Kim added.

Research and Markets, a Dublin-based global market research firm, forecast that the global car sharing market would grow at a compound annual growth rate of 41.35 percent over the period 2013-2018.

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)