Toyota Launches Kinto, a New Brand That Combines Car Sharing, Carpooling and Subscription-Based Leases, in Europe (engadget.com) 16
Toyota wants to evolve from a car-maker to a mobility company. An anonymous reader shares a report: To do that, it's launching Kinto, a new brand that will provide full-service leasing, car sharing, carpooling and subscription-based leases. Unfortunately, those offerings will only be available in Europe. Toyota is evaluating other services, like ride-hailing and a multi-modal app, and says it will work with cities, companies and individuals. The full service-leasing, Kinto One, will combine the lease, service and insurance in a single monthly payment. The car sharing service, Kinto Share, will offer hybrid vehicles. The carpooling, Kinto Join, will emphasize the opportunity to reduce carbon emissions, and Kinto Flex, the subscription-based car leasing, will offer greater flexibility.
Great Idea! (Score:2)
Lets combine all of the things about cars that people hate!
What a good name choice (Score:2)
- an eyewear brand website
- a tumbler (?) brand website
- a tea and coffee brand website
- a cooking accessory brand website
and so on...
Re: (Score:2)
I live in France, which incidentally is located in Europe. When I search for Kinto on Google, the first results are:
- an eyewear brand website
- a tumbler (?) brand website
- a tea and coffee brand website
- a cooking accessory brand website
and so on...
Or a combination of Kill and Pinto
Re: (Score:2)
Pill?
Re: (Score:2)
So you don't own the car? (Score:1)
This seems like a way to ensure that eventually you only pay for the permission to drive the car even if you are still paying a comparable price to another new car that you do own.
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This seems like a way to ensure that eventually you only pay for the permission to drive the car even if you are still paying a comparable price to another new car that you do own.
Somewhat analogous to being a customer of Adobe, except you pay far more to rent permission than you would to buy it in perpetuity.
Re: (Score:2)
This seems more like a wake up call to reality for those who are heavily invested in Uber, yeah, your investment is screwed. Where one manufacturer goes the rest will follow and that leaves no space for companies like Uber.
what the hell is a multi-modal app (Score:2)
The last modal app I can remember using is vi.
Get off my lawn
Re: (Score:1)
Some of the cars have "drivers" every hour of the day.
People who can drive go looking for the waiting cars that are parked. Walk? Bike, Bus? Rail? To where the cars are waiting. Pay by usage over hours, days..
People who cant drive get a "driver" and "car" using an app. Pay for been transported.
With all the cars in constant use, a car company hopes to get new money flowing in "after" selling all the cars...
Service support? Every use of the car brands a
Expensive (Score:3)
So I've been trying out a car-sharing initiative in my country (The Netherlands). If you go and calculate it, it's just very expensive. Here's a calculation for Fetch, the car sharing initiative by Renault that's run in Amsterdam.
Now mind you, these are electric cars, which are supposed to have a low total cost of ownership. Plus, there's no margin on sales, because they're made and rented out by Renault.
So what's the daily price? 78 euros, and you can drive 250 km (155 miles) per day.
I work three days at home, and two days at clients. That means per month, I rent that car 8 days. Plus another 4 days making trips with the family, so that's 12 days x 78 euros = 936 euros per month. Now if I lease that same car, that would cost me 619 euros per month. That's including electricity, three-year contract and 20,000 km (12,500 mi).
How is this possible? If I lease the car, it costs me 619 euros. If I share it with other people, it costs me 936 euros, i.e. 50% more!
You could say, yeah but the three year contract! I feel that doesn't explain a 50% price increase. My conclusion is that a car is a mass product. This is so incredibly efficient, and makes cars so cheap, it makes no sense to share them.
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Re: Expensive (Score:2)
Thatâ(TM)s 20,000 km per year for the lease. The car should be returned to the same location, or at least thatâ(TM)s what I do. Iâ(TM)ve never needed to leave it somewhere else.
Re: Expensive (Score:2)
Plus the shared car is going to be a giant pain in the ass to get and return all of the time. Plus it will be in an unknown state of cleanliness and repair. This hints at why sharing is so much more expensive. Flipping the car to another is not free, and not remotely cheap. Cleaning, check in/out, maintenance, are all going to be higher with the sharing.
The correct comparison is not a lease but a rental. How much is a similar car to rent from the normal place? Include your insurance, not the rip off r
Re: Expensive (Score:2)
Iâ(TM)ve never encountered the car dirty, to be honest. I donâ(TM)t think rental is the same, because thatâ(TM)s often a pain. You gotta pick it up at a rental agency, they copy your license, fill in paperwork, all such a hassle. This is just an app, unlock with Bluetooth and go. When youâ(TM)re back, hook it up to the charger and done.
"KINTO UN!" (Score:2)
Sounds good. You shout "KINTO UN!" into your phone and half an hour later, a golden cloud shows up and takes you to Master Roshi's island.