Wheels on demand: The latest car subscription news

Welcome to the latest edition of our car subscription newsletter, a digest that compiles the hottest industry news and the most interesting reads into a single blog post. Let’s take a look at what car subscription companies around the world are up to and look at a few reads that take a deep dive into the newest industry developments!

What’s hot in world news? 

Growth and innovation continues at high speed, with car subscription companies unveiling aggressive expansion plans and reporting strong growth. We begin in Spain, where Revel has closed a funding round of €115 million. The company plans to use this funding to rapidly scale its business after spending the past three years working on its business model.

In the UK, Mycardirect has revealed ambitious growth plans as it celebrates its three-year anniversary. Mycardirect currently has a base of more than 2,000 members, but is looking to expand this to 6,000+ over the next three years, despite the UK’s challenging economic environment. The company says the “unparalleled flexibility of vehicle subscription” will fuel its growth.

In line with the trend towards vehicle brands targeting car subscriptions, Hyundai Motor Europe has announced a partnership with Casi to introduce its Mocean range across Europe. The two companies have already started to migrate the existing Mocean customer base to the Casi platform and will scale the subscription service to new European markets in the coming months.

Insurance companies see opportunity in car subs space 

In more developed countries; the rise of the sharing economy, the shift to electric vehicles and, in the longer term, the advent of autonomous cars are expected to transform the business of car insurance in the years to come. Proactive insurers are getting ahead of the game by partnering with car subscription companies. In the US, Autonomy has announced a partnership with Liberty Mutual Insurance.

Autonomy is the largest electric vehicle subscription company in the US. Qualified subscribers will now receive Autonomy’s subscription with its fully integrated insurance offering. Unlike most insurance policies that are offered on a semiannual or annual basis, Autonomy’s integrated insurance product is offered to subscribers on a month-to-month basis.

In Germany, Allianz Versicherungs is expanding its partnership with Fleetpool. Fleetpool, a pioneer in the field of car subscription and corporate mobility, offers companies and their employees car subs at a fixed, all-inclusive rate. Allianz customers will now also be able to access car subscription offers from Fleetpool on the Allianz portal.

Unpacking the benefits of car subscriptions and understanding the jargon

What’s the difference between getting a car subscription and hiring or leasing a car? An explainer from UK website The Car Expert delves into what makes a car subscription unique as well as the benefits of this model of car ownership. The article highlights that one of the big advantages of car subscriptions lies in its flexibility. Excerpt:

“My view is the subscription is exactly the same as when you subscribe to Netflix or anything of that nature,” says Mycardirect CEO Duncan Chumley. “It always has a flexibility built in so whilst you can have a subscription for one month, all the way up to four years with ourselves every month you still have the option to hand the car back or to swap it over.”

UK motoring journalist John Curtis has written a piece about the pros and cons of buying a car versus subscribing. He also chooses flexibility as the biggest win you get from subscribing, especially if you work from home. “In the end, it’s not just about getting from point A to point B; it’s about embracing a transformative vision for the future of transportation,” writes Curtis.

Motortrend, meanwhile, showcases some of the many car subscription services available in North America. The publication notes that financing a car, truck, or SUV that rapidly depreciates after purchase can become a significant financial burden—especially in this time of remote work, high inflation and disrupted supply chains.

New Zealand expecting a car subscription boom 

For our latest news snippet, we head over to New Zealand. Research from YouGov reveals that around 625,000 Kiwis plan to ditch their own car and move to a short term rental model to have more flexibility (that word again) around the choice of car they drive, and when. Changing attitudes are most prevalent among millennials, with 31% expecting to use a car subscription.

That’s all the news we have for you in this edition. But we’ll be back soon with a curated list of our favorite reads about growth and innovation in the car subs space.