By CRM staff
Toronto, Ontario — September 14th 2018 — Canada received its first ever low-commitment car subscription service earlier this year.
A partnership between the Detroit-based tech start-up Carma Car and used-vehicle dealership AutoOne, the two companies collaborated on a Canadian version of Carma Car, which offers short-term leasing options to Canadian consumers.
“I was excited to be first out of the gate in Canada,” said Rozim Patel, senior vice president with AutoOne.
The subscriptions offer an all-inclusive monthly price which includes miles, insurance coverage and standard maintenance coverage. Also enclosed in the price are pickup, delivery and concierge services, as reported by The Globe and Mail.
“The notion of owning a car and taking pride in it exists, but it’s decreasing,” said Azarias Reda, CEO of Carma Car.
AutoOne currently possesses approximately 2,700 late-model cars from a variety of different auto makers.
“People like the no-hassle experience of ride-sharing and car-sharing, but sometimes they need to secure a car they can drive daily.”
So far no Canadian auto makers have announced such programs, though not for a lack of interest. Volvo quickly sold out a year’s worth of inventory of their subscription vehicles to its car care program in the U.S.
“This appeals to a group that does not want to deal with the stresses of car ownership,” Nicholas said. “You have people who want a shorter-term commitment.”
Carma Car’s goal is to place emphasis on lower costing vehicles that only require commitments as short as one month.
“Subscription is a really, really great way to deploy off-lease vehicles,” Reda said. “You’re going to get a nice late-model car … and you can save a lot of bucks.”
