Turners delays launch of vehicle subscription service

Turners is planning to launch its vehicle subscription service in September after being forced to postpone its start because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The company was due to begin the new operation in late March but the spread of Covid-19 and lockdown delayed those plans.

Turners is working with Australian company Collaborate Corporation Limited, which has run the Carly subscription service across the ditch for about 18 months.

The New Zealand venture was originally due to also run under the Carly brand but will now be called Turners Subscription. It will provide drivers with access to a monthly, vehicle subscription service, with no finance or leases and the ability to start, stop or change vehicles to suit their needs. 

Jeremy Rooke, general manager of digital strategy at Turners Automotive, says the company will initially use cars it owns for monthly subscriptions in the Auckland area. The intention is to eventually roll the scheme out to other parts of the country.

“Given that we’re sourcing out of Turners’ stock, it’s going to be representative of what you would see at Turners, but we would be tending towards the newer stock,” Rooke tells Stuff.

Pricing is set to be similar to Carly in Australia, where plans range from A$115 (NZ$124) a week to A$147 a week.

Rooke says the service will be cheaper than hiring a vehicle but, in many cases, more expensive than buying a car.

”If you know what’s going to happen in your life for the next three years, and you know where you’re going to be, and you know the type of car you need, I would say it’s cheaper to buy a car.

“But if you’ve got that uncertainty and you don't know what’s going to happen and you need something for a set period of time, then it’s going to work out cost-effective for you.”

The development of the service comes as concepts such as vehicle subscription and car sharing are increasingly seen as part of motoring’s future.