Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Car sharing |
Founded | 2009 Boston, Massachusetts |
Founder | Shelby Clark |
Headquarters | San Francisco, California |
Number of locations | 6 corporate offices |
Area served | United States (except state of NY), Canada, the UK and Germany |
Key people | Shelby Clark (Founder & Chief Community Officer), Andre Haddad (CEO) |
Services |
|
Number of employees | 200[1] |
Website | https://turo.com/ |
Turo, formerly RelayRides, is a company that operates a peer-to-peer carsharing marketplace. It allows private car owners to rent out their vehicles via an online and mobile interface. As of 2017, there are about four million users and 170,000 privately-owned cars on the app.[2] The company is based in San Francisco. From 2013 to 2014, RelayRides was the subject of an investigation in New York over violations of state vehicle insurance law that resulted in $200,000 in fines. Forbes included it among 14 "hottest on-demand startups" in 2015.
History
edit. . . .
International expansion
editTuro's first expansion outside the United States was in April 2016, when it launched in three Canadian provinces: Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec.[3][4] The Canadian version is limited to areas where Turo's Canadian insurance partner, Intact Financial, operates.[3][5] A year after introduction to the Canadian market, the app had 130,000 users and 2,800 listed cars.[5] This was followed by a release in the United Kingdom in December 2016 that was intended for car rentals from small businesses, rather than individual car owners.[1] According to Business Insider, many peer-to-peer businesses, including Turo, have been focusing more on business participants.[1] The Canadian province, British Columbia, was added in 2017.[6]
In September 2017, Turo announced a $92 million series D funding round led by Daimler AG, Liberty Mutual, and others. Turo also bought Daimler's Germany-based car-sharing service, Croove, as part of the deal.[2][7] Turo officially launched in Germany in January 2018.[8]
Services
editOn its website and app for iOS and Android,[9] Turo offers more than 800 makes and models of vehicles. Owners offer their cars, sometimes including delivery in more than 2,500 cities and 300 airports 5,000 cities[10] across the U.S., Canada, Germany, and U.K.[11][12]
Unlike traditional car rental services, Turo neither owns the vehicles nor maintains them. Rather, they offer a platform for car owners and renters to connect,[13] resulting in reduced rental costs as compared to traditional car rental services.[14][15]
People who wish to generate income from their cars while they're not being used can register the cars online to be rented by other Turo members. The car owner states the time and place where the car will be available. A renter wishing to rent a car reserves a specific time slot for the car online[16] and pays for the amount of time they signed up for.[17] Car owners can set their own prices or use Turo's dynamic pricing suggestions, and the company takes 25%.[18] The renters pay around 35 percent less on average than a traditional rental company.[17]
Through Turo's American insurance partner Liberty Mutual,[19] the Turo service covers vehicles with up to $1 million of liability insurance to protect car owners against lawsuits for injuries and property damage.[11][20] Cars listed must be 2006[21] or newer with an odometer reading below 130,000 miles, with some exceptions. All Turo users are screened for trust and safety purposes.[17]
References
edit- ^ a b c Price, Rob; UK, Business Insider (December 16, 2016). "but there's a catch". Business Insider. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
{{cite web}}
:|first2=
has generic name (help) - ^ a b "Peer-to-peer car rental start-up Turo heads to Germany". USA TODAY. September 6, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ a b Mudhar, Raju (April 19, 2016). "'Airbnb for cars' comes to Canada, lets you rent your ride". The Star.
- ^ Sagan, Aleksandra (April 19, 2016). "Want to make some money renting out your car? Here's how". CTVNews. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ a b "Some call it the 'Airbnb for car rentals,' but Turo is treading carefully in Toronto". CBC News. April 25, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ "Turo launches 'Airbnb for your car' in British Columbia". Vancouver Sun. October 3, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ "The Airbnb of Cars Just Bought A Startup Launched By Mercedes-Benz". Fortune. September 6, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ "Turo car-sharing marketplace launches in Germany". TechCrunch. January 18, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.
- ^ Jennifer Jolly (8 September 2015). "The best technology to take on a trip". USA Today.
- ^ GmbH, finanzen.net (October 14, 2017). "A couple paid for two Teslas by sharing them on the Airbnb for cars and here's how they did it". Business Insider. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ a b "Turo car-sharing company aiming to expand to Canada". CBC News. 13 January 2016.
- ^ Alex Konrad (4 November 2015). "With $47 Million And A New Name, Car-Sharing Startup RelayRides Seeks Rebirth". Forbes.
- ^ Cody Barbierri (1 December 2009). "RelayRides launches first peer-to-peer carsharing service". Venturebeat.
- ^ Ken Belson (10 September 2010). "Baby, You Can Rent My Car". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ Marc Levy (17 July 2010). "RelayRides challenges Zipcar, marketing with teams on foot". Cambridge Day. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ Rogers, Roo, Botsman, Rachel (2010). What's Mine is Yours.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c Anieca Ayler (23 February 2015). "The Airbnb of Cars Can Save (or Make) You Money". 5280: The Denver Magazine.
- ^ Kirsner, Scott (2010-04-12). "RelayRides: Like Zipcar without the car fleet". Boston.com. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
- ^ Griswold, Alison (September 6, 2017). "Car-sharing startup Turo raised another $92 million to help people pay for their dream cars". Quartz. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
- ^ "Turo turns strangers into car-sharers". The Columbian. 26 December 2015.
- ^ "Which cars do you accept?". Turo Support. March 7, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2018.