Zipcar supplies cars to more than 250 college campuses in the United States. Ford Motor Company has decided to become part of the popular car-sharing service.
Zipcar, founded more than a decade ago, is a service that rents cars to customers at an hourly or daily rate. Customers also need to pay an annual membership fee as well.
According to Reuters “The company said Zipcar would offer $10 discount on its $35 annual membership fee for the first 100,000 sign ups, and $1 off its hourly rate for the first 1 million hours for the use of any Ford vehicle at certain colleges.”
Zipcars are most commonly used at colleges and in urban areas where parking is limited as well as the budgets of most people.
Ford has signed a two-year agreement with Zipcar during which 650 Ford cars will be added to the Zipcar line during this academic year. Eventually 1,000 cars will be added during the two-year period, said Ford.
In a previous article the subject of high gas prices and their positive effect on the Zipcar company was addressed. Much of the company’s success can be contributed to the increase in gas prices and the difficult economic times. Owning a car is just not an option for some people these days.
Ford, like several other car companies involved with Zipcar, had to jump onto this moneymaking opportunity as well.
Ford, as discussed in a March 21 article, has also become part of the electric car market. They developed a Focus Electric car set to hit the car market by the end of this year. The car will get about 100 miles per charge.
Zipcar is also teamed up with car companies like Mazda, Mini and Volkswagen. There are many car options for those who are members.
That’s all for now,
Cori
