According to many in the global automotive sphere, mobility as a service (MAAS) is the future of the car industry: the idea is that we motorists won't actually own or lease just one car, but instead have a subscription or pay-as-you-go account with a car company and have access to different vehicles for different requirements.
Toyota New Zealand has launched a trial scheme along these lines in Nelson, calling it the Toyota Mobility Project. It's the third in a series of programmes that also includes the Toyota Hydrogen Project and Waka Aronui.
The Mobility project is an expansion of the CityHop car sharing service, which is owned by Toyota NZ, and is run from the Bowater Toyota Store in Nelson. It's the first step in the brand's plan to "roll out Mobility services... nationwide".
Customers in Nelson can choose from a fleet of vehicles through a subscription or pay-by-the-hour service. For example, with the subscription, if a customer purchases a $500 pack this equates to 46.66 hours with a Toyota Raize hybrid, or just over $10/hr.
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Alternatively, they can pay by the hour, which starts at $15 per hour for a Raize.
Fuel is included in the price if customers book a vehicle for under two hours and travel under 70km. If customers travel over that distance they must bring back the vehicle refueled.
There are currently eight vehicles available for general use, including Raize, Yaris, Yaris Cross, CH-R, RAV4, Highlander (all hybrids), Hilux and a pure-electric Lexus UX300e. If you're wondering what a Raize is by now (we certainly were), check out the picture above.
Incredibly, the fleet also includes the GR Yaris and GR Supra. These, plus the Land Cruiser 300, are the only models that require customer "pre-approval", says Toyota.
People from Nelson are able to sign up for the Mobility Project trial through the Toyota Mobility NZ app on Apple or Android (Play Store).
“Our vision is to provide affordable and accessible mobility for all kiwis in NZ that may not solely focus on ownership,” says Neeraj Lala, Toyota NZ chief executive. “We have been passionate about exploring multiple ways to decarbonise our mobility eco-system for the past decade and this includes through innovative mobility as a service projects.
“In society, we are moving towards a world where access to mobility will be equally valuable as ownership. In this just transition, Toyota is focused on offering all low emission solutions, and a range of innovative mobility services. We believe multiple mobility solutions and technologies will be needed to decarbonise the transport sector, as there are no silver bullets in this tough journey ahead.
“The beauty of this scheme is the right vehicle for the right job at the right time. It showcases the potential for a future with less car ownership, less congestion, more flexible mobility and few carbon emissions.”
And more people grinning ear-to-ear in GR vehicles, presumably.