“Airbnb of Cars” Gaining Momentum as Australians Embrace Car Sharing”
Brent talks with CES will Will Davies CEO and co founder of Car next Door and discusses the new idea of car use!
Listen to the podcast here.
The cost to own and operate a car has hit a peak with a landmark study showing that Australians are spending up to $17,606 a year on getting around, more than 14 percent of household incomes – giving rise to the growing popularity of car sharing platforms like Car Next Door.
Car Next Door CEO and co-founder, Will Davies, says the business is like an “Airbnb for cars” because it allows people to list their cars for rent, by the hour or day, when they’re not in use.
“When you look at all the outgoings like registration, fuel and insurance cars quickly become a huge financial burden.”
“There are many households with more than one car and we’re finding there’s a big interest from locals to rent out their second, or third, car to offset the rising running costs.”
“Your car is costing you money every day, whether you drive it or not. Car owners are offsetting the high fixed costs of owning a car by renting their car out to neighbours through the platform.”
“It’s great if you’re running two cars just for the morning and afternoon school drop off or weekend sport.”
“Recent studies have shown that cars are parked for 95 per cent of the time. The current model of car ownership is crazy – it’s costly and wasteful.”
Central to Car Next Door’s success is strict membership criteria, an easy to use online booking and payment system, insurance and high end, in-vehicle technology to make the transaction safe, fast, and hassle-free for both owners and borrowers.
Mr Davies says insurance, membership checks and a user rating system have been critical in getting people comfortable with the concept of sharing their cars.
“We’ve got comprehensive insurance that covers anyone driving the car and strict standards that both the car owners and the car borrowers have to meet to become members, and if they don’t stick to the rules then they’re out.”
Car Next Door is available in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Newcastle and the Gold Coast; there are plans to move into Canberra, Adelaide and Perth next.
Car Next Door now has more than 1300 cars and 60,000 borrowers on the platform. The average renter on CND makes almost $300 a month by renting their car out when they aren’t using it, some people are making up to $10,000 a year.
About Car Next Door
Launched in 2012, Car Next Door is on a mission to free people and the planet from the ‘one person, one car’ mentality. By connecting car owners with trusted borrowers in their local community, Car Next Door empowers people to save money, reduce waste and build cleaner, greener, better communities.
Car owners can rent their car, van or ute out when they are not using it, through Car Next Door’s secure online platform. Automated key exchange, payments, tolls, insurance, roadside and 24-hour member support are handled by Car Next Door, making it simple and safe for people to make better use of the millions of idle cars around Australia.
For more visit https://www.carnextdoor.com.au