‘car2go’ leaving Chicago at the end of the year

Chicago is among five North American cities the company is pulling out of after it “underestimated the investment and resources” necessary to succeed.

Car2Go CEO Olivier Reppert steps out of a car from the rental program’s pilot Chicago fleet at a launch event in Pioneer Court last year. — Car2Go, an app-based short-term car rental service, is pulling out of Chicago.

The short-term vehicle rental company “car2go” announced Friday it’s ending operations in Chicago at the end of the year.

In a post on its website, the company said it was pulling out of Chicago and four other North American cities after it “underestimated the investment and resources that are truly necessary to make our service successful in these complex transportation markets amid a quickly changing mobility landscape.”

Car2go rentals in Chicago will no longer be offered as of Jan. 1, 2020, less than two years after the company arrived here with 400 eco-friendly cars available to rent. The company is ending service Oct. 31 in Austin, Calgary, Denver and Portland.

It is an app-based service that lets users reserve rental cars, drive them then leave them at designated parking spots. Rides cost between 29 cents and 39 cents per minute.

The company suspended services in Chicago earlier this year after a rash of vehicle thefts.

In April, 21 people were charged after more than 100 car2go-owned Mercedes-Benzes were stolen in the city.

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