Poppy withdraws shared cars from Liège due to vandalism

Poppy, a provider of shared and rental cars, is pulling out of Liège due to too many incidents with the shared cars, according to its marketing director, Pierre de Schaetzen.

Poppy, a subsidiary of the Brussels holding company D’Ieteren, has been operating in Liège since early February 2023, the company’s first steps in Wallonia. Around 50 cars were deployed in the city center of Liège and neighboring areas.

“Problems disproportionately large”

The many cases of vandalism and accidents involving Poppy’s bright red cars in Liège have made the car-sharing service’s operations there unprofitable, laments the company with a fleet of 2,300 cars.

“In all the areas where we operate, the results are excellent, and incidents have decreased dramatically in recent years,” Poppy says. “Unfortunately, however, the scale of the problems in Liège is disproportionately large, making our operations there no longer sustainable.”

Return possible

As of October 31, the Liège fleet of Poppy cars will, therefore, be deployed in Antwerp, Brussels, or at the country’s various airports. However, Poppy is still leaving the door open for a possible return. “We hope to return to Liège one day, but we don’t have a date set for the moment,” says Pierre de Schaetzen.

This is not the first time shared car providers have complained of vandalism. This has also happened in Brussels, among other places.

At the beginning of this year, Poppy also discontinued its services in Mechelen, Leuven, and Ghent, but that was because they were underused.