From being accustomed to renting our homes, and that power drill you only need once, we now don’t mind renting a nail polish that someone else has already had their hands on, or not owning our washing machine. But why aren’t people so keen to own material possessions anymore?

There’s a number of ways the sharing economy can keep you dry in wet weather, whether it’s staying out of the rain in an Uber or taking shelter in the Airbnb apartment you’re staying in. But now there’s a more direct solution in the form of UmbraCity – an umbrella-sharing service.

The 'sharing economy' has become an attractive buzzword for ambitious start-ups looking to leverage its implicit messages of accessibility and sustainability. People rallied around the idea of borrowing stuff rather than buying it, but the vision of a sharing utopia hasn't materialised.

Car experts think that Europe is already experiencing 'peak car'. With smartphones and the internet offering young people freedom, renting rather than owning feels more appropriate to free-wheeling Gen Y. Could Audi’s sharing scheme signal a turning point in the industry?