Gallery: 2018 Jeep Wrangler JL Rubicon first drive review
Jeep is getting into the subscription service game in a small-scale experiment, Bloomberg reports, in addition to launching a three-month trial program with peer-to-peer car sharing. The automaker is partnering with Avis Budget Group Inc. on a three-month subscription service that will allow owners to trade their Jeeps for other vehicles from FCA brands, such as Dodge and Ram, and is also working with Turo on a pilot program that will allow owners to rent their vehicles to other users. Turo's service essentially allows subscribers to rent out their vehicles to others, just like a rental company, to make extra cash to offset such things as lease payments. Turo has been operating for several years and currently has 350,000 owner-rented vehicles in its collection, Bloomberg notes.
Jeep's two experiments are small at the moment: Both will launch in Boston and will only permit the first 100 owners to register for each program.
The goal of each program is sales: Jeep wants individuals who are new to the brand to try Jeeps and decide if it's the right vehicle for them, brand chief Tim Kuniskis told Bloomberg. But the automaker also wants to try out both types of businesses without investing in full-scale program launches.
Gallery: 2018 Jeep Renegade
The small scale of Jeep's subscription service trial program reflects the challenges of making the service work for the customer and the automaker, Bloomberg notes. A number of automakers have experimented with subscription services, and most have struggled to make the programs make money for the automaker and also be affordable for the consumer. Most, of course, are run by luxury automakers with the main selling point being the variety of vehicles provided to customers, mimicking the effect of a very fast leasing program that lets users swap vehicles often.
Peer-to-peer car sharing, on the other hand, targets a younger demographic and operates as a moneymaker for car owners and is not confined to luxury brands. GM has experimented with this type of service as well through its car-sharing service Maven -- Jeep now wants to see if it can do the same.
Gallery: 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
Jay Ramey grew up around very strange European cars, and instead of seeking out something reliable and comfortable for his own personal use he has been drawn to the more adventurous side of the dependability spectrum. Despite being followed around by French cars for the past decade, he has somehow been able to avoid Citroën ownership, judging them too commonplace, and is currently looking at cars from the former Czechoslovakia. Jay has been with Autoweek since 2013.
