Ford pilots lease-sharing program

Ford Motor Credit is piloting a lease-sharing program which will let small groups of individuals team up to share a lease, after the company’s research suggested that the model of one buyer per vehicle at one fixed payment is unlikely to survive in the new-style “sharing” economy.

The pilot, called Ford Credit Link, will launch later this year at three dealerships in Texas. The dealerships will enable self-organized groups of three to six customers to share a new-vehicle lease.

The program is designed to appeal to urban consumers who do not require full time ownership of a vehicle exclusively for their use, because they have public transportation on hand, but would still like occasional access to a car.

The group of customers will approach the dealership together, but they will go through credit approvals individually. Ford Credit will make a decision based on the eligibility of the group as a whole.

Outlining the new scheme to Automotive News, David McClelland, vice president of marketing for Ford Credit, said: “They’re individually approved but they’re collectively responsible for the lease payment.”

It will be up to the group to decide how to divided up the monthly lease payment between them. Some might decide to charge each individual based on the proportion they used the car each month, while others may simply opt to split costs evenly.

If someone wants to leave the 24-month lease early, then the other group members have a choice of either finding a replacement or upping each of their contributions.

Once the lease contract is signed, the dealer will offer the buyers an app which will allow them to make payments and schedule driving slots. They can select “quick drive” to access the car immediately or reserve the vehicle for a later date and time.

The pilot will center on Austin, Texas, which has a good transport system, which McClelland said was important as buyers need to be able to mix partial car ownership with bus, train and other transport services.

End to ‘mileage anxiety’

Ford’s Lincoln subsidiary is also piloting an app, this time so that existing customers who have leases through Lincoln Automotive Financial Services can keep track of their mileage and earn money off their next purchase.

About 4,000 Lincoln customers with 2016 Lincoln MKC, MKX or MKZ models with a trim and equipment upgrade that includes an embedded modem are eligible to sign up for the Lincoln app, called Lincoln Miles. They need to have 10 to 25 months left on their leases to participate in the two-year pilot.

The app monitors actual mileage compared to the agreed mileage limits in their leases, and offers drivers the potential to earn a bonus toward their next car, for unused miles on their lease. Each consumer will receive between $100 and $1,000 toward their next Lincoln lease or purchase.

Lee Jelenic, Lincoln’s director of future digital and product development, said: “We know some of the lease clients often worry, and we want to make it really easy for clients to know where they stood and reward them for the unused miles.”