If you’ve always wanted to own a Porsche, you may now get your chance.
Porsche, the luxury sports-car brand of Volkswagen AG (OTC:VLKAF), is adding Las Vegas, San Diego, Phoenix and Toronto to its app-based subscription service that it started in Atlanta two years ago.
The subscription service, known as "Porsche Passport," essentially enable people to rent and drive a Porsche for set periods of time, sharing it with other people who also subscribe to the service. The cost ranges from as little as $269 U.S. to as much as $3,100 U.S. per month, depending on how long a person wants to use a Porsche.
Automakers are dangling subscriptions to try to reach younger consumers accustomed to streaming movies on Netflix or sharing rides through car services such as Uber.
But the results so far have been mixed. While Porsche and Mercedes-Benz (OTC:DDAIF) are expanding their subscription services, General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM) pulled the plug on its "Cadillac Book" subscription service in December and "Volvo Cars" is said to be under review by the company.
Most subscription services cost more than a comparable three-year lease, which limits their growth potential, according to a study that car-shopping researcher Edmunds released in 2018.
However, monthly subscribers can drive as many as 20 different Porsche models, have vehicles delivered to them, and only pay for gas, after a $595 U.S. one-time activation fee. Insurance and maintenance are included in the cost. Porsche chose the four additional cities based on their support of the brand and the company’s expectation of interest among local consumers.
Porsche Passport is, on average, 20% more expensive than leasing a Porsche for three years, the automaker said. Still, 180 people subscribed over the course of two years, 80% of whom had never owned one before. Typical users were in their mid-40s, eight years younger than the average Porsche owner.
