We all know the car ownership model is changing, and changing pretty rapidly. Many consumers no longer want to be tied into one vehicle for years on end, preferring the flexibility offered by lease alternatives. Some are going even further than that, services like the Porsche Passport offering customers the chance to experience the whole range for a fixed monthly fee, with all other costs included.
Well, now Jaguar Land Rover is joining the like of Porsche and Mercedes-Benz in offering its own subscription service, called 'Pivotal'. Backed by InMotion, JLR's venture capital and mobility services department, Pivotal aims to allow customers to "experience either the experience either the latest technology from the smarter, more refined and premium Jaguar range, or trial the unrivalled breadth of capability, versatility and luxury offerings of the Land Rover range, swapping between models when it suits them."
The service will launch with the Jaguar i-Pace and F-Pace, as well as all four Range Rover models (Evoque, Velar, Sport and the actual Range Rover) plus the Land Rover Discovery and Discovery Sport. Which is a lot of SUVs - with more joining the ranks soon - but then the buying (or subscribing) public does love an SUV...
The subscription itself is pitched as "totally flexible", with those signed up able to change vehicle every six months or pause membership as suits. All require a £550 sign-on fee, with packages then starting at £750 a month for Blue (Discovery Sport, Evoque or F-Pace), £1,150 a month for Indigo (Velar, Discovery or I-Pace), Violet at £1,350 (with a Range Rover Sport) or the Ultraviolet Range Rover subscription, at £1,600. All tiers include tax, insurance, servicing, repairs and rental in the monthly cost. The cars themselves are set to be sourced from approved JLR retailer stock.
Now, not that long ago, the notion of a car subscription service would have seemed like folly; paying a lot of money to have access to cars but without your name next to any single one was unheard of. But the flexibility appeals now, as does the simplicity, in a world that's both more time poor than it ever has been and also desperate for the very latest of everything.
The car subscription concept, the broader idea of Mobility as a Service (MaaS), is only going to grow; some estimates put the latter market as a $52bn industry by 2027, with 10 per cent of European car sales forecasted to be subscriptions in just five years. So, it's understandable that JLR is after a slice of this burgeoning market - and expect plenty more to follow them.
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