German car-share boom makes luxury marques available to young drivers

Munich

IF Hamburg architect Oliver Kienzler had to buy just one car for his growing family, it would be a sensible Skoda station wagon. Instead, he has an entire fleet of BMWs at his disposal.

He is part of a wave of urban German drivers who could afford to own vehicles but are relying on car sharing instead because they do not want to search for parking, deal with maintenance and pay for insurance. Their choices are starting to have an impact in major cities in Germany, Europe's biggest arena for cars and car sharing, a sign that the market may be shifting away from ownership.