CUPRA and Volkswagen Financial Services UK (VWFS) has launched a pilot subscription service for the arrival of the award-winning, all-electric CUPRA Born in the UK.
The new service, which is a partnership between CUPRA, Volkswagen Financial Services UK’s Rent-a-Car platform and Wagonex, enables customers to take cars on a three-month subscription.
The subscription package includes the cost of the vehicle, insurance, roadside assistance, 24/7 Driverline as well as any maintenance. After three months, all customers have to do is hand the vehicle back, or renew for another period.
The online journey is simple and intuitive. Customers looking to experience the CUPRA Born simply choose their delivery date at Cupra's site and then a member of the Rent-a-Car team confirms availability and arranges for a vehicle to be delivered within 14 days of booking.
Designed and developed in Barcelona, the CUPRA Born was crowned Best Small Electric Car of the Year at the What Car? Awards 2022 and was recognised for its impressive handling characteristics, high quality interior and dynamic powertrain.
Research by Volkswagen Financial Services UK (VWFS) has found that 61%* of people aged 18 to 34 are interested in accessing a car via subscription, similar to services such as Netflix, where you can cancel anytime.
Desire for subscription cars appears to decrease with age, too, with just 39% of 35 to 44 year olds saying they’re interested in a subscription service. This drops further among people aged 45 to 54 (26%), people aged 55 to 64 (18%) and people aged 65 to 74 (11%).
With younger people more commonly consuming music, TV and even food at the click of a button, the millennial consumer is evidently keen to embrace the subscription model in other areas of their lives.
Recent industry research also shows that 31% of UK drivers want flexibility to change their vehicle to suit their mobility needs, whilst 22% are interested in a subscription that allows access to various models from the same brand.
VWFS Rent-a-Car launched in August 2018 and was designed to make renting a Volkswagen, Audi, SKODA, SEAT or CUPRA vehicle as easy as possible, so whether it’s for a holiday, moving house or keeping businesses on the road, the platform can offer an excellent choice of vehicles, options and insurance cover for all its customers.
Wagonex offers an alternative to ownership with a monthly membership subscription service, in a bid to eliminate long payment plans and additional costs.
Richard Harrison, Managing Director at CUPRA UK, commented: “The future of mobility has never been more in the spotlight and our customers are increasingly looking for ‘on-demand’ vehicle ownership. This new subscription service reflects the shift in which an increasing number of our customers want to own and interact with our cars to meet their changing lifestyles. The CUPRA Born is a real game-changer for the brand and so is perfect for customers looking for emotional design, electrification and performance, on-demand.”
John Lewis, Head of Product Strategy and Development at Volkswagen Financial Services UK, said: “We’re hugely excited to mark the launch of the CUPRA Born in the UK with a new subscription service. The way that people are using cars is fast evolving and we need to make sure that, as our customers continue to engage more with digital technology, we make their online journey as simple and as convenient as possible. Our partnership with Wagonex underlines our commitment to putting the customer at the heart of everything we do as it’ll give customers more choice, flexibility and control.”
Toby Kernon, CEO at Wagonex, added: “We are absolutely thrilled to support Volkswagen Financial Services UK and CUPRA with the launch of this new subscription service, which will give customers more choice, flexibility and control. From the very beginning, Wagonex has been focused on the customer. This collaboration represents a real vote of confidence in the industry-leading technology we have built from the ground-up to streamline and simplify the subscription process for brands like Volkswagen Financial Services UK and CUPRA. We look forward to working with these brands and further increasing the range and availability of vehicles available on subscription to meet with the growing consumer demand for flexibility.”
Richard Thompson, senior investment executive at the Development Bank of Wales, said: “We’re delighted with Wagonex’s partnership with Cupra, allowing them to expand their status as a front-running vehicle subscription service. The Development Bank is glad to have brought Wagonex to Wales, supporting their funding rounds, and we look forward them announcing further exciting partnerships in future.”
For more information, visit https://www.vwfsrentacar.co.uk/
