Renting instead of buying: car subscriptions are booming – now car manufacturers such as BMW and Volvo are also entering the business

While sales of new cars have plummeted, more and more cars are being sold on a subscription basis. Now car dealers want to benefit from the trend too.

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The slump is dramatic: 185,000 new cars were registered in Switzerland by the end of October this year. That is 68,000 less than in the same period of the previous year. But there are also winners in the troubled car market: the providers of car subscriptions. Their number is increasing sharply. In addition to the pioneer Carvolution, which entered the market in 2018, individual garages, the Axa insurance company with its Upto offer, the car dealer Amag with Clyde and Swissbility AG with its Flatdrive offer are now also active. You get further competition: Now the big car brands want to cut part of the cake.

For a few weeks now, BMW has been offering a subscription for its brands BMW and Mini in this country. A BMW model 118d is available from 610 francs per month, a BMW 520d costs just under 1,100 francs per month. As with other car subscriptions, insurance, registration, taxes, repairs and tire changes as well as a certain number of kilometers are included. The notice period is three months, after which you can change to another model or return the car without replacement.

New customer groups thanks to car subscription

For the offer, BMW is working with the German provider ViveLaCar, which is active in the car subscription business in Germany. “This cooperation is currently the optimal solution for us,” says BMW spokesman Sven Grüetzmacher. The subscription is attracting increasing interest, and the BMW Group sees increasing demand.

With the subscription, BMW is acquiring new customer groups, says Grützemacher. “We offer you the opportunity to get to know our products over a longer period of time. In addition, the subscription fits in very well with the new expectations of many customers for flexibility, especially at this time. “

Volvo is also about to enter the market

The experiences from working with ViveLaCar are good. In addition to integrating your own retail partners, the decisive factor is the combination of online and offline: “Subscribers book their vehicle with a few clicks and without paper and receive it very quickly from one of our branded dealers.”

In addition to BMW, Volvo is now also about to launch its own subscription offer. This is called “Care by Volvo” and, according to the information on the website, it should “soon” come onto the market in Switzerland. When exactly is still unclear. “We are in exchange for the offer with our parent company in Gothenburg,” says a spokesman. The exact time for the launch in the Swiss market has therefore not yet been determined.

The car subscription is not always financially worthwhile

In Germany, where “Care by Volvo” is already available, the cheapest model from the XC40 series is available for the equivalent of 512 francs per month, while the XC90 Recharge has to be paid for over 1,100 francs per month. In Switzerland, prices are likely to be higher.

The fact that car subscriptions are increasingly overtaking new cars and leasing is also evident from the investments in the industry. For example, the Mobiliar insurance company announced in September that it would invest a further 50 million francs in the Carvolution provider so that it can expand its range. Compared to the previous year, Carvolution recorded a growth of 210 percent, announced the Mobiliar. In turn, the insurer Baloise announced this week that it would be setting up a car subscription for used vehicles in Germany.

While the car subscription is often financially much cheaper for the driver than leasing, the situation is different compared to buying your own car. For example, if you have been using it for around seven years, buying a new Seat Ibiza model would be cheaper than taking out a subscription (we reported).