Renting a Porsche? And not just one!
Photo: Porsche
More and more people dislike the burden of car ownership, exploring other mobility options. Porsche is offering a subscription solution.
Imagine the following scenario: You have big plans for the weekend. You have a date with the lady you’ve been flirting with for a while. You grab your phone, open the app, but you don’t order a taxi or Uber. You order a luxury Porsche »beast«.
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The digital assistant will first ask where you’re planning on going. The mountains? The newest SUV Porsche Cayenne will be waiting at an arranged location. Would you prefer an evening ride around town? You’ll probably like the legendary Porsche 911 series cabriolet. For now, the service, costing only a few thousand dollars a month, is possible only in Atlanta, the North American headquarters of Porsche.
Porsche Passport is a service that allows its subscribers to enjoy luxury on four wheels. The German manufacturer of sports cars and SUVs, owned by Volkswagen, is currently offering two package options. One will set you back 2000 dollars a month, the other a thousand more. They both include a service activation charge of 500 dollars, taxes and registration, insurance, maintenance, as well as unlimited mileage.
“(With subscription) we engage people with a brand that they usually wouldn’t.”
Even the cheaper Launch package offers an impressive fleet. Subscribers can flip eight types of vehicles as often as they like, including the sporty Boxer, Cayman S, 718, as well as SUVs Macan S and Cayenne. The more expensive subscription package Accelerate allows drivers to conquer the American roads by stepping on the gas in 22 Porsche models, including the 911 Carrera S, Panamera 4S, Macan GTS, and Cayenne S E-hybrid.
Photo: Porsche
The response from subscribers seems to be positive so far. Most subscribers, who are said to more often choose the pricier version, have never owned a car from this legendary German brand. »(With subscription) we engage people with a brand that they usually wouldn't«, said Klaus Zellmer, Porsche North America CEO, who is excited about the initial success of the pilot project. »We're conquesting a target group, and engaging them with a brand, who do not want to commit to a three-year lease. They just want to go month by month and are willing to spend for that.«
The USA is becoming an incubator for experimental subscription programmes for most car manufacturing giants. That shouldn’t come as a surprise. Firstly, success in America is often a good indicator of the potential in other markets. Secondly, after seven years of growth, last year the American car market suffered a blow. The sales of cars in the USA have fallen by 1.8 percent, which may not seem that much, but it is disconcerting.
The less pricey Porsche subscription package allows users to choose from eight vehicle models, while the more expensive one offers twenty-two.
Some experts are convinced that this indicates the start of a negative trend. The car market has stopped growing, despite an economic boom which not only inspired plenty of optimism in consumers, but also promoted employment and salary growth.
Evidently, consumers are changing. Many simply no longer want to own a car, at least not as feverishly as they used to. They can get from point A to point B with an Uber, which doesn’t require negotiating with a bank before concluding a long-term car loan, or manoeuvring the complicated business of leasing.
Photo: Porsche
But now there is a third option, which many feel has the power to transform the automotive industry.
For many modern drivers, life per month is the perfect solution. It requires no ownership costs, yet it caters to their two key demands – mobility and flexibility.