It appears that the car-sharing industry is attracting numerous businesses these days. This trend aligns with the shift in consumer preferences from owning personal vehicles to utilizing shared transportation networks. For automobile manufacturers, entering the car-sharing market ensures they capitalize on this growing demand as more people opt for shared vehicles instead of purchasing their own cars.
Nissan is the latest automaker to join this movement, unveiling its “e-share mobi” service in Japan. Set to launch on January 15, 2018, the initiative will feature the Nissan Leaf and the Nissan Note e-Power. Participants will have the opportunity to utilize Nissan’s advanced autonomous driving technology and electric drive systems. The service is expected to commence with around 30 locations throughout Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Shiga, Nara, Wakayama, and other regions in Japan.
The service will be facilitated through a mobile application developed by Smart Oasis Carsharing and will not charge any monthly fees initially. Additionally, there won’t be any extra costs based on distance traveled. Nissan aims to attract customers by removing concerns about the frequency of use that can accompany registration. This differs from services like Zipcar in the US, where users incur a monthly fee of $7 regardless of usage. However, specifics about the rental fees once a vehicle is reserved have not yet been disclosed.
All vehicles in this service will include Nissan’s ProPilot autonomous driving technology and Around View Monitor. Each car will also be equipped with a drive recorder— a small black box designed to collect data in the event of an accident. Furthermore, the vehicles will feature an integrated ETC card to facilitate highway toll payments, which will be charged to the user without any additional markup. Users can also access a service akin to GM’s OnStar, providing assistance with navigation and suggestions for travel routes from a live operator.
Nissan opened the registration process for the service on December 8. Interested Japanese users can sign up at https://e-sharemobi.com/. This announcement follows Nissan’s recent plans for a ride-sharing pilot program set for next year.
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