Collaborate Corporation’s peer-to-peer car rental business has recently expanded into leasing vehicles to the business sector.
The DriveMyCar business venture is being rolled out in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, and has already attracted corporate clients including BCS Airport Systems, Propac and Pharmacor, according to CC chief executive Chris Noone.
The fleet includes light commercial vehicles such as utes, 4WDs, executive sedans, economy hatchbacks, and also electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles. As well as the peer-leased fleet, it has also has access to a national fleet of vehicles provided by fleet vehicle managers InterLeasing.
Leasing prices are less than half traditional car hire, Mr Noone said, because the company does not own the vehicles or have the same overheads as traditional rental operators.
He said unlocking the value of Australia’s under-utilised vehicles and making them available to businesses is the next phase of growth for the sharing economy.
“Small businesses and big corporate companies have realised the benefits of the sharing economy, recognising that making better use of existing assets is smart business,” he said.
“It makes a lot of sense to provide businesses with easy access to under-utilised private and corporate fleet vehicles so they can benefit from the substantial savings and better choice. Airbnb have done this well with their ‘Airbnb for business’ model, and we are doing the same with cars.”
In the 2014-15 financial year, the firm’s private car rentals turnover was over $1 million, Mr Noone said, with the value of consumer rental transactions in July 2015 increasing by 26 per cent month-on-month.
The ASX-listed parent company, Collaborate Corporation, also operates a number of other tech-enabled peer lending business including caravan rentals, household item rentals and owns and developed the PeerPass verification platform.
Despite the recent volatility in the stock market, which has hit the tech sector particularly hard, he said the company’s shares were holding relatively steady.
“The share price has dipped slightly but many investors see peer to peer as a long term growth proposition and invest for the future,” Mr Noone said.
This story was republished with permission from The Fifth Estate and originally published here.
