With profit margins still being squeezed, auto dealers are looking for more ways to boost profits. Some are beginning to find it in the mobility-as-a-service area, taking advantage of the popularity of online ridesharing for services like Uber and Lyft and offering their own vehicles as short-term options.
A new partnership may help auto dealers take a piece of the mobility-as-a-service pie. HyreCar Inc., a peer-to-peer car-sharing company that enables drivers to secure a vehicle to drive for a ridesharing service like Uber, has partnered with DriveItAway to create what it calls a “collaborative turnkey solution to generate additional revenue through mobility-as-a service and shared mobility/subscriptions.” Driveitaway.com bills itself as the first site to focus on off-lease vehicle remarketing over the Web through dealer-to-consumer online used-car auctions.
DriveItAway has integrated with HyreCar’s turnkey solution to enable any dealer to leverage their inventory and get in the shared mobility game, according to the two companies. It’s available in 35 states, and users can list thousands of cars.
“Our program offers the best of everything, today, for a car dealer,” said John F. Possumato, CEO of DriveItAway, in a statement. “By providing a new, easily managed shared mobility department, our dealers are preparing for the ‘mobility-as-a-service’ future which will allow a quick and efficient way to create new scalable revenue streams. Most importantly, we are also introducing a new customer base for the store for vehicles sales and fixed operations. As a ‘path to ownership’ to our driver customers, we are enabling new buyers to the store, not ‘poaching’ current prospects in the market.”
Here’s how it works:
- Upload your vehicles. Dealers use the Web site to create multiple listings on HyreCar. Describe your cars, set the price and mileage limits, and add photos. The two companies’ “market experts” can help recommend pricing depending on your area. Wait for rental requests.
- Accept the rental. From here, you can arrange with the verified driver a time to come to your place of business to pick up the keys. Confirm the pick up on the Web site. (The time of the pickup is also a good opportunity to discuss a path to ownership for the renter.)
- Receive payment. Drivers are charged through the companies’ fully integrated payment system before pickup.
“All drivers are potential buyers, and this gives them a path to ownership,” according to the companies.
