Ride-sharing brands will see revenues grow to an estimated $6.5 billion within four years, a report into the sharing economy has suggested.

Juniper Research forecasts the $3.3 billion the sector made in 2015 is likely to almost double by 2020 as it expands into new cities and other players emerge to capture some of the pie.

The largest territory will be North America, accounting for almost a third of the $6.5 billion revenues.

Western Europe and Asia-Pacific (not including Far East and China) are forecast to be the next two largest regions.

Despite some difficulties in getting past domestic player Didi Kuaidi, Juniper says Uber is “not without the determination and the means to force its way into new markets”, despite an apparent $1 billion needed in expansion costs for China alone.

In particular, growth for the likes of Uber will be modifying the model slightly when it enters markets with specific new opportunities, such as India and Thailand with their respective motorbike taxi and auto rickshaw economies.

At the accommodation end of the sharing economy spectrum, Juniper estimates that Airbnb et al will grow to an estimated $6.1 billion business by 2019.

The report says:

“Forecast growth in the shared space industry will hold significant concern for the hotel industry, where in many cases shared space providers are not bound by the same rules and regulations as traditional establishments, leading them to undercut pricing and avoid restrictions.”

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