Cartio
Simplified the rent/lease decision flow, which reduced booking drop-offs and increased sign-up completions.
Role
Product Designer
timeline
October 2024 – February 2025
Why Cartio- High market potential
20-25% of urban residents in major Swedish cities engage with car-sharing or mobility apps at least once a year.
User penetration is approximately 2.1% in 2024 and is projected to rise to about 2.4% by 2029—translating to an estimated 260,000 active users.
The broader car rental and leasing market in Sweden is also significant, with revenues forecasted to reach roughly US$486 million by 2025.
Key Insights
Car renting is preferred: Car renting is an alternative to car ownership, making driving more affordable, flexible, and resource‑efficient'
Bit hesitant towards leasing: Rising living costs have made long‑term commitments less attractive. Leasing providers need more flexible terminations, shorter-duration plans, or “lease-to‑own” hybrids to retain customers
Digital Clarity: Surface all fees upfront, add contextual help for fuel policies, and streamline booking to one or two screens. Basically no hidden fees or packages.
My Process
The experience journey map was drafted to get further insight into our goals and analyse what would be a great way to move forward and what features are required to be focused on.
The decision
Rent and lease lived behind separate flows in every competitor I looked at. The obvious move was to do the same thing better. I went the other way and built a single comparison surface where both options stayed visible until the user was ready to commit.
It added engineering complexity I had to defend. What it bought as value was a user who understood what they were committing to before they committed. For a 0-1 product trying to enter a market with established patterns, that mattered more than the cleaner flow.
Potential User Journeys
Urban Commuter: Anna, a 32-year-old professional in Stockholm, uses the app every morning to quickly book a nearby vehicle with keyless entry for her daily commute.
Weekend Explorer: Erik from Gothenburg reserves an SUV for day trips on weekends, benefiting from curated scenic route suggestions and a hassle-free pick-up/drop-off process.
Corporate User: Lena in Malmö leverages the app’s corporate portal to book multiple vehicles for business travel while receiving detailed usage and expense reports for fleet management.
Flexible Lifestyle User: Johan, a freelance creative from Umeå, opts for a flexible subscription plan that allows occasional, on-demand vehicle use, complemented by integrated public transport options for sustainable travel.
Key Design Decisions
Strategic Design Hypothesis
If users can explore mobility options by duration and commitment first and clearly understand the cost and conditions before choosing between rental and leasing, then conversion will improve without compromising trust. This hypothesis shifted the goal from “faster booking” to safer decision-making.
Key Product Decisions & Trade-offs
Unified Exploration Flow
Rental and leasing were combined into a single exploration experience based on duration and usage needs.
Trade-off: Increased system complexity in exchange for reduced user confusion.
Duration-Led Decision Making
Users adjusted time commitment first, with pricing and conditions updating dynamically.
Trade-off: More information upfront, but fewer mid-flow drop-offs.
