Exeter's Co Wheels car club has 138 members and 16,000 miles in six months. Where the five hybrid cars are parked, what they cost and how to join.

Exeter’s pay-as-you-go car club has signed up 138 members and covered more than 16,000 miles in its first six months. Devon County Council published the figures on 27 October.

The club is run by Co Wheels, a national community car club, with the county council. It launched on 18 March 2026 with five low-emission hybrid cars. Members book them by the hour or the day through the Co Wheels app.

That works out at about 3,200 miles per car since March, and about 116 miles per member. Those averages are our own sums from the council’s two figures.

Where the cars are

The five cars each have a home bay:

  • Southernhay East, EX1 1QL
  • Powderham Crescent, EX4 6BZ
  • College Road, EX1 1TG
  • Polsloe Road, EX1 2DN
  • Bartholomew Street West, EX4 3AJ

Co Wheels says it plans to add more cars in Exeter as membership and demand grow. Neither it nor the council has said how many, where or when.

What it costs

The council puts the price at £7.50 an hour or £50 a day. On top of that, Co Wheels’ own pricing page lists:

  • a £5 monthly fee on its Standard Plan, or £7 a month for members under 22
  • a £10 joining fee on its Basic and Young Driver plans
  • 24p a mile for petrol and hybrid cars

Insurance, servicing and fuel are included in the price, the company says. Bookings over eight hours are charged at the day rate. Joining needs your driving licence and a DVLA check code.

What the council says it is for

The county council says car clubs ease congestion, free up parking and cut emissions, because more people share fewer cars.

It quotes the 2025 annual report of CoMoUK, the national shared transport charity. That found each UK car club car replaces 23 private cars on average. On that national average, the council says, Exeter’s five cars could replace about 115. That is an estimate from national data, not a count of cars given up in Exeter.

Councillor Jacqi Hodgson, the county’s cabinet member for climate change, thanked “every resident who has taken the step of joining up”.

Richard Falconer, head of mobility at Co Wheels, said: “We look forward to building on this strong start and expanding the network as membership grows.”

What it means for you

  • If you use a car only now and then, a car club can cost less than owning one. Add up a typical month at £7.50 an hour plus 24p a mile, and the monthly fee, before you sell your own.
  • If you live near one of the five bays, you can see whether a car is free and book it on the app. Details are on the Co Wheels Exeter page.
  • If you want a car near you, demand is what drives new bays, so it is worth telling Co Wheels where you live.

For parking permits and car parks in the city, see our parking in Exeter page.