Holden enters the rental car business

Holden has officially joined the rental car business in Australia, opening its fleet directly to the public this week in a move expected to be followed by the rest of the industry.

Until recently, Holden’s Maven rental car service was restricted to food delivery drivers, ride-share drivers and other members of the ‘gig’ economy – an undertaking that has grown to more than 6000 members clocking up more than 200 million kilometres in two years.

Now, the car-maker’s Maven fleet has grown by 2500 vehicles as it opens the door to everyday retail consumers, giving them a choice of sedans, SUVs and utilities over the space of a week.

Accessing Holden’s Maven service requires no joining or membership fee, with vehicles on offer including the Trax ($225 per week), Equinox ($250 p/w) and Acadia ($330 p/w) SUVs, Calais sedan ($265) and Holden Colorado LTZ ute fitted with a tow bar ($300).

The insurance excess is set at $1000 for drivers over 25 and $1500 for drivers under 25. The minimum rental period is seven days once customers have completed their first 28-day rental period.

Maven vehicles can be driven anywhere in Australia, although initially the service will be based out of selected Holden dealers in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Adelaide and Perth only.

“The offer is designed to feel like vehicle ownership but without the hassles,” Holden said in a press release.

“With only seven days’ notice required, members can take a break, change their model or when their needs change (such as) heading overseas, members can drop their vehicle off and pick up another when they get back.”

The Maven extension will enable Holden to compete with existing third-party players including GoGet and, eventually Volvo. The Swedish car-maker was originally on track to be first to market with its own in-house subscription service, Care by Volvo, before Holden’s announcement this week.

Other brands such as Audi (via Audi On Demand), BMW (Access by BMW), Mercedes-Benz (Car2Go) and Porsche (Porsche Passport) have launched their own subscription services overseas, but none of them have come to Australia.

Most recently, Jaguar Land Rover signed up to supply new vehicles to a third-party car subscription provider in the eastern states, which is offering a new Land Rover Discovery Sport from $269 per week and a Jaguar F-PACE from $389/week.

The same provider also offers a range of used Toyota, Mazda, Holden, Ford, Nissan, Volkswagen, Kia, Honda, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porsche and Volvo vehicles available from as little as $120 per week.