Sharing cars to get Shenyang moving

As the sharing economy continues to grow in China, a company is offering car-sharing services in Shenyang, Northeast China's Liaoning province.

The first batch of BMW cars was placed in downtown Shenyang on Sept 16 following a month-long trial.

From Sept 16 to Oct 16, it costs 1.5 yuan ($0.23) to use a car for each kilometer driven. Users will also get a coupon with a value of 300 yuan to enjoy further use of the service.

To use the cars, customers need to download an app and pay a deposit of 999 yuan. Customers must input their ID card and license information when they create an account.

Currently, the sharing cars can only be used in the downtown area of Shenyang, and there are a total of 220,000 parking spaces in over 1,400 parking lots available for the cars.

When customers drive out of the designated areas in the city, the cars will have their engines automatically switched off by special technology installed in the vehicles, and the user will be added to a blacklist of drivers.

Additionally, to provide a more comfortable and safer driving experience for customers, sharing cars are equipped with functions such as Wi-Fi, fingerprint and facial recognition systems, sobriety testing, and an intelligent voice control system.

Blue BMW cars are placed in the downtown area of Shenyang for the launch of a new car-sharing service for local residents on Sept 16. [Photo/nen.com.cn]

A Shenyang resident scans a QR code to unlock one of the blue sharing cars in Shenyang on Sept 16. [Photo/nen.com.cn]