Hyundai invests in Australian car share

Hyundai will invest a further NZ$6.7 million in Australian car share company Car Next Door, bringing its stake to about NZ$8.6m.

The average car is used for less the 5% of the day, Car Next Door founder Will Davies says.

Hyundai’s Auto Link Premium app means owners can open and start their car without a key, allowing them to share it with Car Next Door’s 150,000 car borrowers choosing from more than 2000 cars around Australia.

It allows Hyundai owners to earn extra money when not using their vehicles.

“If you don’t use your car every day, Car Next Door is an easy, reliable way to offset the costs of owning your car by renting out to a community of trusted borrowers,” Car Next Door says.

Typical rates for cars are A$5-$8 an hour, or A$25-$40 per day. Vans cost about A$9-$12 per hour and A$50-60 a day.

The Car Next Door website says renters pay for the time they have the car and the distance driven.

“If you are on the no-monthly-fee Featherweight plan, you’ll also pay a booking fee and, if you choose, an optional excess reduction fee.

Each car’s booking page has a calculator to help estimate the final cost of the trip. Enter the dates and times the car is needed and choose if you would like to reduce your Damage Cover Liability (insurance excess), and enter an estimate of how many kilometres to travel.

Hyundai Australia chief executive JW Lee says car share is the future for connected environmentally friendly vehicles.

Car Next Door operates in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and plans to expand to other cities and airports.