Jaguar Land Rover’s new ‘Pivotal’ car subscription service will be furthered studied for Australia.
The new venture is the latest step in JLR’s gradual transition to a provider of mobility services, and follows a similar schele called Carpe, launched in 2018.
While launching in the UK overnight, JLR Australia said it was not yet ready for local use, though it will continue to investigate the offering:
“At present there is no specific plan in place for JLRA to introduce the Pivotal subscription to Australia, however there is a plan to further study this area of business. Since 2019 JLRA has had a relationship with CarBar Australia, supplying a fleet of 10- Jaguar F-PACEs to launch the first luxury new car subscription service in Australia.”
Users of the new service pay a monthly fee for the vehicle’s rental, which covers the cost of insurance, tax, servicing and any repairs needed. The scheme also allows subscribers to change their car every six months – much more frequently than most car leasing schemes – to “suit their changing lifestyle, whether it’s a new job, growing a family or the need for greater flexibility”.
Vehicles available on Pivotal from launch include the Land Rover Discovery, Discovery Sport, Jaguar I-Pace, F-Pace and all four models in the Range Rover line-up.
The new Defender will be added at a later date, as will the recently revealed plug-in hybrid versions of the Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque.
There are different membership tiers to choose from – Blue, Indigo, Violet and Ultraviolet – ranging in price from £750 (AU$1,350) to £1600 (AU$2,870) per month. Users are able to switch between the tiers easily as needed, and can also choose to pause their membership on a monthly basis. There is also a one-off joining fee of £550 (AU$985).
According to JLR, some 18 per cent of drivers prefer ‘no-commitment subscriptions’ to owning their own vehicle, and it estimates that subscription models will account for 10 per cent of all new car ‘sales’ – roughly 16 million vehicles – in the US and Europe by 2025. Pivotal is aimed at the 20 per cent of young professionals who wouldn’t ordinarily own a car.
The brand adds that, in trials for the new scheme, 80 per cent of members had not previously owned a Jaguar or Land Rover, making it an effective way of attracting new customers to the brands.
Rawdon Glover, managing director of JLR UK, said: “The future of mobility has never been more in the spotlight and our customers are increasingly looking for more flexibility in the way they interact with us.
“We are constantly looking at new and innovative ways to deliver the best solutions for our customers and adding the Pivotal subscription service to our portfolio is the latest in a line of new services that put our customers’ needs first.”
The Pivotal scheme is backed by InMotion, JLR’s venture capital and mobility arm, and forms part of the brand’s ‘Destination Zero’ strategy, which aims to eradicate congestion and road accidents.
Felix Page