Car-sharing provider Miles exits Belgium: ‘Too much vandalism’

Another car-sharing company is pulling out of Belgium. German provider Miles Mobility will leave the country entirely just two years after entering the market, citing rampant vandalism, misuse, and theft – issues particularly severe in Brussels. Margins aren’t strong enough to compensate for the rotten apples.

The company announced on Tuesday that it will gradually remove its fleet of approximately 1,400 shared vehicles from the streets of Brussels, Antwerp, and Ghent, marking the end of its first and only foreign expansion.

In the future, Miles will focus exclusively on its domestic operations in Germany, with a fleet of 20,000 vehicles across twelve cities. The Belgian fleet will be withdrawn gradually.

‘Hundreds of cases’

In a statement, Miles acknowledged that while its Belgian usage figures had shown promising growth, the increasing frequency of vehicle vandalism and theft had made the business unsustainable. The company’s Belgian director, Raphaël Zacchello, had previously voiced concerns over the state of the fleet, particularly in Brussels (see below). 

No exact numbers were revealed, but in an interview last summer with the newspaper La Libre Belgique, he described “hundreds of cases” of vandalism, highlighting incidents of broken windows, wrecked interiors, vehicles being used as smoking lounges by local youths, and joy riding. 

Unlike German cities, where similar issues subsided after initial launch phases, Brussels remained a persistent trouble spot, Zacchello said, with incidents occurring around the clock. Antwerp and Ghent are less plagued.

Joint letter

Miles tried to beat its competitor Cambio with a free-floating model – its cars can be parked anywhere within designated city limits. Also, the pricing model was different, with charging based on distance traveled rather than time in use, an attractive option for users navigating congested cities.

Another rival, Poppy, a subsidiary of Belgian auto group D’Ieteren, has faced similar challenges. In October last year, the company pulled back its fleet from Liège, citing “disproportionally large” cases of vandalism. 

Back in 2023, Miles co-wrote a letter with Poppy and GreenMobility to the Brussels authorities to address the issue of vandalism—apparently to no avail. GreenMobility already left Belgium in the spring of last year, though a lack of profitability instead of destructive behavior was named as the main reason.

Poppy’s marketing director, Pierre de Schaetzen, told the newspaper De Tijd that his company remains committed to Belgium. He added that strategies were implemented to mitigate vandalism, though he kept specifics confidential.

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