Lidl expands car sharing service with two GoCars in Portlaoise

Lidl Ireland has expanded its partnership with car and van sharing service GoCar, to install a fleet of 100 pay-as-you-go cars to rent across 50 Lidl stores throughout the country. This includes two GoCars at their Portlaoise store on James Fintan Lalor Avenue.

More than 6,000 Lidl customers have availed of the GoCar service at Lidl stores across Ireland in the last year.

Dublin's East Wall, Shankill and Tallaght stores have clocked the highest number of monthly trips, the retailer noted.

Lidl Ireland partnered with GoCar in December 2022 to conduct an initial trial which saw 20 cars placed across 10 Lidl stores over a three-month period. Following the successful trial, Lidl Ireland accelerated its partnership with GoCar to deliver a fleet of 100 vehicles across 50 of its Irish stores.

With two GoCars installed at each participating Lidl store, shoppers across 20 counties can benefit from the service including Laois, Carlow, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Limerick, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, and Wicklow.

The strategic partnership was designed to provide Lidl shoppers with additional store services to support accessibility. The latest initiative complements the retailer’s existing service offering which already sees OOHPod parcel lockers in place at Lidl Ireland stores which offers shoppers the convenience of picking up their online purchases at the same time as their weekly shop. Lidl Ireland also invested €50 million into installing two Reverse Vending Machines per store to facilitate return of containers eligible as part of the government’s Deposit Return Scheme.

The new GoCar service also opens up local access to low cost, contract-free pay-as-you-go vehicle rental for wider community benefit, particularly for areas where car ownership is low.

Avril O’Hehir, Chief Administration Officer at Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland said: “We’re delighted to expand our partnership with GoCar to provide even more shoppers with access to easy and convenient pay-as-you-go car rental and to continue to offer more in-demand services through our stores. Providing the best customer shopping experience is our priority at Lidl and our partnership with GoCar is just one of the many ways in which we continue to drive convenience for our valued shoppers.”
“Through our expanded new fleet of 100 vehicles across 50 stores in Ireland, even more customers can benefit from the simplicity of our ‘shop and go’ offering, making the big weekly shop or a quick dash for essentials even easier.”
“We are committed to building relationships with market leaders across industries that will have a positive impact on our valued customers, and within the communities that we serve. We’re looking forward to growing our partnership with GoCar even further in the future.”

Joe Quirke, Head of GoCar Ireland commented: “Our partnership with Lidl Ireland has been transformative for our business, unlocking access to new areas and enabling us to drive our reach across Ireland. With 100 GoCar vehicles located across 50 Lidl stores, our partnership with Lidl is our most significant to date within our car sharing fleet.”
“Since the beginning of our partnership with Lidl, we have seen a significant rise in demand for car sharing among consumers, particularly in the current economic climate where people are re-evaluating their individual transport requirements and the benefits of car sharing better suit people’s lives.”

“With more flexibility, lower cost and no long-term financial commitment, more people are making the switch to pay-as-you-go driving. Younger people are also switching on to the service and we’re seeing significant uptake in highly populated areas with low car ownership.”

“We’re delighted to bring those benefits to even more Irish consumers by partnering with Ireland’s best value supermarket retailer to offer convenience and an effective alternative transport solution.”
To register for the service or find more information, please visit www.gocar.ie