BMW Car Owners Can Now Rent Out Their Cars Like AirBnb

Apr 26, 2016 06:08 AM EDT | Tes Christiansen

With the success of the British brand's 100 years in the automotive industry and new model releases, the company is setting its sights on joining the car-sharing trend. Owners of BMW Minis can now take advantage of the brand's latest initiative.

The BMW AG Mini line is set to help its car owners earn extra cash by having it rented out, rather than letting it stay idle for hours when not in use, according to a BMWBlog post. The company has announced that it plans to evolve its Minis by adding devices which would allow its owners to use it like "AirBnb on wheels."

Features which would accept payments as well as vehicle tracking are going to installed in the new BMW Minis to give the owner peace of mind when rented out. BMW executive Peter Schwarzenbauer, who's in-charge of the project, said that Mini owners would either love the idea of saving on the car's lease or be wary of letting strangers use their cars.

Schwarzenbauer also added that should the BMW Mini-AirBnb concept go well, the company hopes to extend the same service to its luxury vehicles. He further stated that the technology would be easily installed and at no added expense to BMW owner.

BMW's quest to adapt to sustainable mobility and car sharing services led the company to study the success of ride-sharing services such as Uber, Lyft, and still others and see it as another alternative to owning a car. Although the brand has its own share of car sharing services in some European cities, the company is in the process of adding more mobile-based transport options, as per the publication.

Bloomberg also reported that BMW is also eyeing introducing in Seattle a taxi-like chauffeur and vehicle delivery service this month. The chauffeur service would include training and certification to maintain the brand's premium service.

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