👉 Background: Uber is the US-startup that started with ride-sharing services, and has since expanded into Uber Eats, scooters and even helicopters. In 2022, Uber acquired Australian car-share business CarNextDoor for $105 million and renamed it as Uber Carshare.

👉 What happened: After less than 2 years, Uber has announced it will shut down its Carshare business. It was betting that Australian customers would want to make money renting out their cars.

👉 What else: Uber even called car sharing "the great next disruptor of Australian transport". But it was not to be. Now this will go into the history-books of Uber as an acquisition-gone-wrong.

What's the key learning?

💡Disruptive business models can be exciting, but they’re not always easy to implement, especially when they require significant behavioural shifts.

💡When Uber acquired CarNextDoor, it said more than 59% of Australians were driving less frequently due to the cost of driving. They believed car-sharing would be the solution.

💡But Uber didn’t see the results it expected from this acquisition. There were a number of challenges in the way, such as:

• Increased cost of insurance
  
• Vehicle theft
• Car damages

This created more headaches for Uber and turned them against pushing this model globally. Sometimes, it’s just easier to call a car than share one.