24 May 2018
Drover, an online car subscription service, has recently partnered with BMW to launch a package that rolls all the costs of car ownership into one monthly instalment. Whilst this may at first instance sound similar to a personal contract purchase (PCP), this takes flexible hassle free motoring a step further, catering for consumers who now expect subscription services or devices with no added costs or hassle.
Customers can swap, upgrade or downgrade their cars at any time or cancel their contract altogether, with no long term financial commitment or down payment. Payments start from around £131 per week and include the costs of insurance and maintenance, as well as breakdown cover, as one bill.
Drover originally launched in the private hire market in 2016, but the partnership with BMW is the first to offer such a service in the UK market to retail customers.
Whilst the asset risk remains with the vehicle provider, the default payment risk and insurance risk remains with Drover. Customers can choose to get their vehicle delivered for a fee or they can visit a dealer’s showroom or rental depot to pick up their car. Drover takes the rental payment from customers online and passes that on to the vehicle partner, it then takes an agency fee for facilitating the deal and a fee for arranging insurance through its supplier.
This new offering illustrates the fast-changing new car market, which in the UK is now dominated by PCP finance.
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