The concept of personal mobility is changing and established automakers are moving quickly to adapt to what is going to be a huge shift for the industry as a whole.
On the Volvo stand, alongside the North American debut of its smallest premium SUV, the XC40, the company introduced "Care by Volvo" a service that is meant to make owning a car as simple and hassle-free as owning a smartphone on an all-inclusive contract.
In fact, Volvo says the smartphone market directly inspired the new service, which allows owners to essentially take out a subscription on a car.
"Care by Volvo takes the guesswork out of car ownership, covering insurance, service, maintenance and basically everything except gas," said Volvo Cars USA president/CEO Anders Gustafsson.
For a flat fee of US$600 (RM2,445) a month for a 24-month period, every aspect of car ownership is covered, even wear and tear on the tyres. The entire process of choosing a model and trim level is taken care of online and the car subsequently picked up from the local dealer.
Servicing and maintenance is handled via a concierge service — a Volvo representative will collect and return the car at your convenience — and help is at hand 24/7 in case of an accident, emergency or breakdown.
Lincoln, who used this year's show to launch its new Nautilus mid-size SUV, can already claim to be the only US car marque that offers a concierge servicing and maintenance service — including the delivery of a courtesy car for the duration — as standard on all of its models.
Lincoln concierge service.
However, it's not resting on its laurels and revealed that it is working with CLEAR to make its customers' lives even more stress-free.
CLEAR is a fast-track service for clearing airport security that uses biometric data to authenticate a person and then lets them jump the line and go straight through screening. The service is in place at 30 US airports, and starting in January, all Lincoln owners will get two six-month CLEAR memberships free (one for themselves, the other for their partner). What's more, Lincoln Black Label owners will get a year's subscription.
"Our clients tell us time is their ultimate luxury," said Lincoln president Kumar Galhotra. "So we've paired our exceptional vehicles with world-class services in collaboration with CLEAR to enable them to travel along their journey even more effortlessly and efficiently."
Lincoln also announced that it is going to extend its chauffeur service — Lincoln Personal Driver — to Dallas starting in 2018. The service, which provides Lincoln owners with access to a personal driver for their car who can also carry out errands, launched earlier this year in San Diego and Miami and has been a huge success.
And, like Volvo, the company also confirmed that it is developing a vehicle subscription service that it plans to test in California in early 2018.
