Subscription-based car rental is a long-term rental type where the customer pays a periodic fee for the use of one or more vehicles. It is an alternative to owning or leasing a vehicle. Vehicle subscriptions usually include insurance and maintenance but sometimes also roadside assistance and the opportunity to change vehicles. With the insurance and maintenance covered, the user only has to worry about fuel. It is especially handy when moving to another city or country for a certain period since the subscription can generally be ended at any time.
Most subscription-based car rental providers are car manufacturers. Most of them allow users to swap out the car a certain number of times in a month or year. This means that instead of leasing one specific vehicle, vehicle subscription allows the users to try out several vehicles from the same manufacturer. Such programs are Access by BMW, Care by Volvo and Mercedes-Benz Collection.
Some car rental companies offer a similar service, for example, Enterprise and Hertz. Both of them include insurance and maintenance and they allow users to exchange vehicles.
Since the subscription makes the user’s life a lot easier, the monthly price might also be higher. Most of the subscriptions start from $1000 and can rise to $4000 per month. But some small companies offer subscription plans starting from $400. Most of these companies are in a pilot phase and operating in only one city.
Synonym(s):
- Vehicle subscription
- Car-as-a-Service (CaaS)
- Cars-as-a-Service (CaaS)
