In the long term, many vehicle manufacturers no longer see themselves only as car manufacturers, but as mobility service providers. Volvo has therefore launched the "Sweden fleet": This is the name of the new, manufacturer-owned rental and car sharing program. At 100 dealers across Germany, 260 Volvos of all model series are currently available. The fleet should be increased to 1.000 cars by the end of the year.
The reservation is made via a free app on the smartphone, the keys are handed over and returned initially at one of the stations. Later - according to Volvo in a few months - the app also serves as a door opener. The vehicles do not necessarily have to be returned where they were rented, they can also be parked at a dealer in another city. In the future, further points of view will be added to public parking lots.
The vehicles can be rented for a few hours up to twelve months. In theory, a minute billing is also possible, although this option is unlikely to be used by most customers. The dealers set the prices themselves, but they are based on the region's rental car price level for the respective segment.
At the start, the Swedes are organizing a special campaign on the North Sea island of Sylt (until September 6): 20 XC90s are available to holidaymakers at seven stations across the island (including the airport, Gosch am Kliff and various hotels). The first trip is free for four hours, each additional hour costs 14,90 euros.
Other manufacturers are already active in the field of car sharing and rental cars: For example, with the station-independent Carsharing Drive Now (BMW) or Car2go (Daimler). For some time now, the Stuttgart-based company Car2go Black has also offered a rental car service. With the “Car Unity” app, Opel is pursuing a somewhat different approach: the free app is used to arrange car exchange among private individuals, regardless of the brand of the vehicle in question.
Author: Hanne Lübbehüsen / SP-X