Behind The Wheel
- Auto Sales to Really Take Off This Summer?
- Growing Sub-Prime Auto Loans - New Troubles for Automakers?
- Savings at the Pump Still Supreme for Car Buyers
- GM Says It's Dropping Out of Super Bowl Ad Race
- Two New Models, Two Different Drivers in Mind
- GM Still Likes Its No-Facebook Ad Strategy
- World's Biggest Brands Flex Their Muscles
- A New World Record: 80 Million Vehicles... and Counting
- Is Toyota Back?
- Ford Cuts Summer Idle Time at US Plants, Will GM Follow?
MOST SHARED
- Facebook Stock Falls Below $29 for First Time
- Home Prices Hit Lows, But 'We See Signs of Hope'
- BlackBerry Maker RIM Hires Advisers to Review Business
- See Fast Money Live from Chicago - Thursday June 7th
- Keystone Pipeline Could Begin Construction in Q1 2013
- Stocks to Watch: RIMM, LULU, DAL & More
- Good News Ahead for the Euro?
- Jobs Employers Can't Fill
- Homes Prices Drop 2% to Post-Crisis Lows: Case-Shiller
- Building A Strategy For Your Career
- PB&J, Mac & Cheese Step Out From Kids-Fare Shadow
- Ackman: JCPenney Sales Have Hit 'Bottom'
- Goldman Investment Shines Light on Solar Power
- Facebook Options Soar on First Day
- Home Prices Hit Lows, But 'We See Signs of Hope'
- Auto Sales to Really Take Off This Summer?
- JPMorgan Debacle Points to Regulatory Incompetence, Corruption
- Are You Ready for Facebook Options?
- Option Bulls Dig Into Ivanhoe Near Lows
- Spain to Go to Market to Fund Banks, Regions
- Home Prices Hit Fresh Lows, But 'We See Signs of Hope'
- Cramer's Top Dividend Plays
- Why June Could Be a Turning Point for Markets
- BlackBerry Maker RIM Hires Advisers to Review Business
- Facebook Faces Extended US Review of Instagram Deal
- Shares of Facebook Fall Below $29 for First Time
- High-Tech Worker Shortage: Has Anything Changed?
- The Manic Incomes of the New York Rich
RSS FEED
GM Jumps Into Carsharing Lane with RelayRides
Text Size 
CNBC Correspondent
 |
Getty Images GM is partnering with the carshare company, RelayRides. |
Well, one driver at a time carsharing companies and programs are becoming a big deal. Zipcar [ZIP
Loading...
()
] went public last year and increasingly the auto companies are striking deals with these companies. The latest is General Motors, which is partnering with the carshare operator RelayRides.
RelayRides is a program in San Francisco and Boston that allows people to rent another persons car (or vice versa) for an hour, several hours, or a whole day. Depending on the type of car you need, how long you'll need it, and how many miles you put on the car.
The carsharing experience could cost as little as $5/hour or as much as $55 per day. It is business model that appeals to people who need a car for just a couple hours, or who own a car, but don't use it for long stretches of time so they are looking to make a few bucks.
Under the new partnership between GM and RelayRides, people who own a Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Cadillac can immediately make their car eligible for RelayRide rental. Those cars with OnStar will be unlocked through a code sent to the renters cell phone. GM cars that do not have OnStar will have a small device attached to the car if the owners decide they want to be a part of the RelayRides program.
It's too soon to know how big this program will become, but for GM the attraction is increased exposure to people who might otherwise rent another brand.
So why is GM doing this? For the same reason Ford recently announced a deal with Zipcar to have Ford models in the Zipcar University program. It's great exposure to a group of potential buyers. Sure these people are not buying right now, but at some in the future they might and these extended test drives are the best exposure an auto company can hope for.
Carsharing is growing in popularity. Roughly 640,000 people in North America were carsharing in July 2011. By 2016, one firm estimates the number of users will hit 4.4 million. Still think carsharing is a quaint little business?
__________________________
Click on Ticker to Track Corporate News:
- General Motors [GM
Loading...
()
]
- Ford Motor [F
Loading...
()
]
- Toyota Motor [TM
Loading...
()
]
- Nissan [NSANY
Loading...
()
]
- Honda Motor [HMC
Loading...
()
]
___________________________
Questions? Comments? and Follow me on Twitter @LeBeauCarNews
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
