Your Next Car Might Be A Subscription

As car companies see people willing to ditch their vehicles, they’re responding by offering more flexible options. Instead of owning one car, what if you got whatever car you want, just when you needed it?

BY JACLYN TROP

Four-figure down payments, cumbersome lease lengths, and skyrocketing insurance costs: it’s enough to send a would-be car shopper running for an Uber or Lyft.

That’s why more automakers are rolling out flat-fee programs that aim to make leasing a car as simple as buying a smartphone. In a bid to keep potential customers from defecting to ride-hailing services and foregoing personal car ownership, brands like Volvo, Cadillac, and Porsche are upending the traditional retail model by developing app-based monthly subscription services that provide vehicles on demand.

“We are seeing a new way of having a car,” says Volvo President and CEO Håkan Samuelsson. “That’s why we’re offering a flat rate independently of your age or where you live. People living in big cities normally pay a very high insurance fee.”

Subscription models, which provide more flexibility than a typical long-term lease, may give automakers a leg up in a retail landscape increasingly shaped by ride-hailing services. In the short-term, automakers are hoping the new services will generate more business as the post-recession sales surge tapers. In 2017, the industry reported the first decline in…

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