Airport Car Rental 2.0
Silvercar aims to streamline the car rental process by offering a new disruptive business service.
The brainchild of one of Zipcar’s founders Silvercar has raised a first round of funding to in its attempt to disrupt the dismal airport car rental experience.
There’s been a lot of excitement in Silicon Valley lately over new disruptive automotive business ideas. We are witnessing a new generation of companies breathing new life into everything from taxi services to auto repair. In particular, startups like RelayRides, GetAround, Wheelz, Zipcar, RideJoy, SideCar, Lyft and Uber – to name a few – are leveraging collaborative consumption and peer-to-peer models to bring a new buzz to traditional automotive business models.
But there is one piece of the car puzzle that is often left out – the pain of renting a car at the airport. That’s where Silvercar comes in. The new startup announced that it has raised $11.5 million in financing to help it fuel a transformation of airport car rental.
Silvercar will offer streamlined car rental operations, a seamless smartphone user interface, and only one type of vehicle: silver 2013 Audi A4s. Customers can book reservations through a smartphone app, which will also let them manage personalized vehicle settings and preferences. They will be able to choose and unlock their rental car by scanning it with their phone.
A driver’s previous preferences, such as destinations entered on their itinerary, will automatically load on the Audi in-dash multimedia interface when unlocked. Silvercar hopes to eliminate the pain point of unexpected rental substitutions by providing customers with a premium car, every time.
Silvercar is designed as a breath of fresh air for business travellers by revamping the often frustrating car rental process to best leverage their increasingly mobile and technology-enabled lifestyles.