Car-Sharing seems like it is really here to stay as more and more big players in the auto industry invest in the budding market. Toyota Motor Corporation, one of the leading car manufacturers in Japan and Getaround, a car-sharing service company based in San Francisco will be teaming up for a new venture in the car-sharing industry
Why Toyota Chose Getaround
Apparently Getaround has been in the car-sharing market for a while now. The company founded in 2009 has been operating since 2013. Reuters also reported that the start-up company has been serving more than 200,000 members from Chicago, Washington D.C, San Francisco and several other cities in the U.S.
What Toyota Brings To The Table
Nikkei Asian Review reported that Toyota Motor and Getaround created a joint fund wherein the latter received an amount of $10 million. However, there has not been any information disclosed regarding the size of stake each had with the recent collaboration. In addition, Toyota also came up with a door locking and unlocking device that can be used with a smartphone. Getaround already had a similar function but it is expected that Toyota's design will be something people would be more comfortable with.
The Service' Initial Pricing
The initial rent for the car-sharing program starts at $5 an hour while car owners will also be receiving some income. Unfortunately there have not yet been any details given about what more to expect regarding this joint venture. People will just have to wait and see.
Toyota's Other Ventures
Getaround is not the only one where Toyota Motor invested in. Investment in Uber Technologies has also been made. The rise of car-sharing services have brought about some speculations that car sales would be reduced but apparently, more consumers from the U.S. are buying vehicles they could rent out when not in use for as a means of earning an income.
