[F150]

In the world of aaS model, I think we are not too far from 'car as a service' model. But the it has to be cost efficient with the ease of scaling up and down on demand in a self service model.
I think 'commute as a service' model is already live with Uber / OLA.

[volkman10]

Car subscriptions maybe a nascent concept in India , but the trend is on.

Car subscriptions give the flexibility to hire a vehicle, change the models every few months and even earn from it.

In a volatile uncertain economic situation, subscription offers a convenient and flexible way to have a car without feeling stuck. The service is particularly appealing to young buyers who prefer to rent rather than buy and often can’t afford the hefty down payment. It may also be a good option for those who are finding it difficult to get a car loan. A subscription is also a good option for aspirational car buyers who would like to flip and flip out of a car for short periods.

India might have a slightly different trajectory. Cars remain a status symbol. Sales growth momentum and ownership appeal are high. A subscription will be more expensive than buying and hence will not appeal to value-conscious buyers

As a trend, subscription holds promise in India where millennials are aplenty. But it may be early to forecast the road ahead for both consumers and startups

Link

[Arjun Reddy]

Two factors on subscribing from companies like Zap.

These cars will be fitted with the mandatory speed governor at 80 kmph , these are classified as commercial vehicles.

I guess the GST is around 12% on these subscriptions. So an XUV at 40k a month will cost you 44.8k net. Unless it is a company billed, there is no way to claim the input credit. At around 5k additional per month totally offsets the maintainance and probably also the insurance costs.

The lease will work only if you let out the car.

Also is the money earned by letting out the car calculated as income and taxable under the Income tax rules ?

[volkman10]

Auto companies venture into Subscription Model in India.

1. Nissan announces its subscription model starting with Nissan Kicks.

2. MG Motors announces its SUV MG Hector to be available on Subscription basis when launched.

[volkman10]

Kinto : Toyota's new venture for subscription-based car ownership.



The company will offer two services in Japan.

Toyota Motor Corporation announced that it has established Kinto, a new company to manage and operate its car subscription service that proposes a new user-car relationship. The new company is jointly funded by Toyota Financial Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota, and Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Company, a member of the Sumitomo Corporation Group

Kinto One, will allow customers to drive one Toyota-brand vehicle — Prius, Corolla Sport, Alphard, Vellfire, Crown — over a three-year period, and Kinto Select that allows customers to drive six models of Lexus-brand vehicles — ES300h, IS300h, RC300h, UX250h, RX450h, NX300h — over a three-year period

Both the services are offered at a monthly fixed price that includes voluntary insurance payments, vehicle tax, registration charges, and regularly scheduled maintenance of the vehicle. The Kinto Select service will be offered from February 6, 2019, and Kinto One from March 1, 2019.

Kinto also plans to award points to the customers based on their safe usage pattern. The points can be applied toward payments.

Link

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Kinto : Toyota's new venture for subscription-based car ownership.

Toyota evaluating to offer subscription-based ownership in India too.

With the shared mobility trend catching up in India, especially among the younger generation, Toyota may offer it in India too.

Link

[pganapathy]

As it stands, I think this is a brilliant model for urban areas. In a city like Bangalore, it makes sense to subscribe/rent/lease/ola&uber than it does to own a car and all the associated stress that comes with it. However, in rural areas, it is a nightmare. We have a coffee estate in Coorg, and while I might be willing to subscribe in Bangalore, it definitely doesn't make sense once I move back to Coorg. There a vehicle is a necessity. The nearest town where I go for my daily needs is 10km one way. I would rather deal with the additional stress and own a car. Once it is paid off, I can keep the car for many more years. All the cars we own are over 10 years old now and I don't pay any monthly EMI's for them

[avira_tk]

The subscription models are really only successful when interest rates are low and market saturation makes new sales dip. Notice that very few popular models are available in these schemes, with lots of restrictions, nothing like owning a car.

New cars easily last a decade and if you pay off the loan, your outflow is bare minimum. I had to use Uber for a week when my car was in the garage during the truck strike, the cost for that week alone topped my monthly fuel outflow, not to mention the difficulty of getting a ride and going to multiple places. The subscription model will be more expensive than owning a car, I'm not sure why the company will have any incentive to maintain their cars. This works for NRIs who need a car for their holidays with the family, assuming a short subscription is allowed, informal services exist already and are quite entrenched.

[for_cars1]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

... nothing like owning a car.

New cars easily last a decade and if you pay off the loan, your outflow is bare minimum.

The subscription model will be more expensive than owning a car, I'm not sure why the company will have any incentive to maintain their cars. .....

In our current era of Fossil Fuel based automobiles, the concept of subscription based model may not sound that lucrative.

However, we are (slowly but definitely) transitioning into a new era where automobiles will be predominantly electric powered and progressively more and more autonomous. This opens up a lot incentives for OEMs to offer a subscription based model in future.

Near term:
1. Electric cars could mean more robust car designs with lesser moving parts/lower points of failure/lower maintenance/higher reliability/longer life compared to IC engine based cars. There is more incentive for OEMs to 'own' the electric car and offer it on subscription to users.

2. The car battery will be the key and most expensive part which will have a limited life (based on a fixed number of charge-discharge cycles). Atleast the battery would become a subscription part where OEMs 'own' and efficiently recycle the battery and users subscribers pay for their usage.

Longer term:
1. Given the advent of self driving cars and the relentless improvements in the system. We already have autonomous braking, lane control, adaptive cruise becoming common place. The human involvement in the driving will progressively decrease over time. All the better for a subscription based approach.

In the distant future, why would anyone want to own cars when they can subscribe to(temporarily own) any autonomos car that is roaming on the street (without a driver) looking for its next subscriber This would be a very efficient model with high utilization where a relatively smaller number of cars can cater to a large number of users as opposed to an ownership model when 90% of a typical car's life is wasted lying in the parking lot

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by for_cars1

Near term:
1. Electric cars could mean more robust car designs with lesser moving parts/lower points of failure/lower maintenance/higher reliability/longer life compared to IC engine based cars. There is more incentive for OEMs to 'own' the electric car and offer it on subscription to users.

2. The car battery will be the key and most expensive part which will have a limited life (based on a fixed number of charge-discharge cycles). Atleast the battery would become a subscription part where OEMs 'own' and efficiently recycle the battery and users subscribers pay for their usage.

you spoke my mind. The inherent 'risk' involved for both parties is reduced manifold, not by any clever business tactic, but purely by technology. That in itself should make the subscription model a much more viable business with lower rental charges for the lessee and easier maintenance for the lessor.
I would like to add #3, to 1 and 2 above.

3. The risk of exposing the car to customers who dont bother about fuel quality (especially in india) and fill up at any bunk they can lay their eyes on , is eliminated with the electric car. Irrespective of the quality of the AC supply, its much easier to build protective ckts around the charging ckt ; unlike a petrol/diesel powered vehicle which has no way to do it other than throw some warnings.

[Miyata]

Came across this DriveX - "A SMART WAY TO OWN A CAR WITHOUT BUYING!"

Could not get any more details than what was on their site. Anyone's got anything further on this?