Hyundai chooses Barcelona to test a new car rental model by months

Hyundai Motor Company has devised a subscription model to rent its cars for short periods and in a few minutes through a website. It is designed for those who want to buy an electric vehicle but don't dare, or those who work for a season in a city and need a car but not for too long because they will leave again. It can also serve professionals who need large cars at specific times of the year but not always.

Just as television subscription models adapt to users' needs by season, allowing them to unsubscribe during holidays or not including football in summer, the Korean automaker wants to adapt to new consumption trends and offer a response to the multiple demands that drivers may have with an à la carte and flexible service, which allows canceling the subscription at any time and changing modalities. "It is the first proprietary platform of an automotive brand to offer mobility services by subscription," said the CEO of Hyundai Motor España, Leopoldo Satrústegui, at the presentation of the initiative.

The multinational has chosen Barcelona as the testing ground for this new service throughout Europe, which could expand to other cities if it works. Mocean is Hyundai's new subscription model, which allows renting its vehicles for 6, 12, 18, or 24 months. Without registration or entry fees, the price is the same every month and includes expenses such as insurance ---comprehensive, with a 300 euro deductible---, maintenance, and revisions. You only have to pay for gasoline or charging if it's electric, parking, and tolls, Satrústegui joked. "It's like having a car, but without owning it," he added.

With a completely digital service, signing up and contracting the service is easy. You just have to choose the model, with the possibility of choosing different models and technologies ---diesel, gasoline, hybrids, or electric---, and select the dealership where you want to pick it up, distributed throughout the province of Barcelona. The subscription provides for contracting 1,000 monthly kilometers as a base but allows increasing the capacity by paying more. The model with the lowest price is the Hyundai i10, for 229 euros per month, if rented for 24 months and the driver is at least 25 years old.

A global project that starts in Barcelona

Hyundai has defended Barcelona's potential in the field of mobility and innovation as the reason for choosing it as the location to test this new business model. "The new mobility concept debuts in Barcelona," said Elena Gris, marketing director of Hyundai Motor España. The executive noted that Spain is one of the multinational's main markets and is one of the countries they usually choose to launch new models and services.

She also stressed that the Catalan capital is not as congested as other cities, considering that carsharing does not have the same weight as in Madrid, where Mocean could also have been tested. Specifically, Ubeeqo, from the Europcar group, and the Som Mobilitat cooperative are the only carsharing operators in Barcelona, with the disadvantage that their cars can only be picked up and dropped off at specific points, unlike motosharing.

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In this context, the automaker expects the pilot test in the Catalan capital to be a success. Hyundai's goals are to add 30 new customers each month during the first semester.

If all goes well, the goal is to expand this model to other cities in Spain and Europe, and to increase the models offered and the vehicle fleet allocated ---the initial fleet is 120 cars---. Hyundai is also studying reducing the minimum rental period for this new subscription model, allowing it to be done for three months, or installing a charging point for the user, as it already does for those who buy its electric or hybrid car models.

Currently, it is not expected that users who have leased their vehicles for a period will end up buying them, as happens with renting services. But it can help drivers who want to try how an electric vehicle works and end up deciding after having tried it for a few months.