South Korean manufacturer Kia is the latest company in India to offer cars on subscription
The company has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ORIX Auto Infrastructure Services Limited, as per which, the South Korean manufacturer will lease out the Sonet, Seltos, and Carens via a subscription model, as done by several other manufacturers in India.
No maintenance cost or down payment
If one wishes to lease a car from Kia, the customer will not have to pay for maintenance or a down payment. The customer can opt for cars spanning from 24 months to 60 months with different mileage options, which will also include the cost of insurance. As of now, Kia has only launched the service in Delhi NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, and Pune as per the first phase’s plans.
Moving on to the price tags of the services, the Sonet can be picked up for a starting price of INR 21,900, whereas the Seltos starts at INR 28,900, and the Carens has a rental price of INR 28,800. Note that these prices will change depending on the tenure and mileage you wish to cover.
For the unversed souls, Kia is not the only brand to offer a car lease or subscription-based model. There are several other car manufacturers who offer such services, and therefore, in the following paragraphs, we have listed them.
"Get a car without buying one," says Maruti Suzuki with its subscription model, which starts with the WagonR at the bottom with a rent of INR 12,000 per month. The company offers almost all of its portfolio for rental purposes, such as the Celerio, Ignis, Baleno, Dzire, Fronx, Ertiga, Ciaz, Grand Vitara, XL6, Jimny, and Invicto. Maruti Suzuki has also listed the Brezza and the brand-new Swift on the Maruti Suzuki Subscribe website. Perks such as no down payment, no maintenance, and insurance are included with all the models and subscription packages.
Maruti Suzuki Swift 2024 Launched - Priced at 6.49 - 9.63 lakh
— Sunderdeep - Volklub (@volklub) May 9, 2024
✅ I thoroughly appreciate Maruti Suzuki for standardizing 6 airbags, ESC, and 3-point seat belts in their already successful and in-demand vehicle. Moreover, their efforts to enhance structural integrity with… pic.twitter.com/jSTCE5S5Jc
Japanese car company Toyota also offers cars via subscription model in India, but only in cities such as Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Noida, and Gurgaon. The company offers all its cars for rental services, such as the Glanza, Urban Cruiser Hyryder, Fortuner, Hilux, and the InnovaHycross. The Glanza E MT, with 24 months of subscription and 12,000 kilometres of mileage, can be rented for INR 25,000 per month.
Like Kia, Mahindra also partners with Oriz and Quiklz to enable people to lease Mahindra vehicles. On the other hand, the subscription business of Mahindra cars is taken care of by the Revv car rental platform. As of now, the cheapest lease package is for the XUV 3XO, which is available at INR 43,199 for 12 months and 10,000 kilometres per year. Unlike Toyota, Mahindra is available in multiple cities across the country.
German car manufacturer Volkswagen also offers its car as part of a subscription package, but only one of the two models can be picked up: the Taigun or the Virtus. We checked the price in Delhi, and here’s how our calculations stand: 24 months x 10,000 kilometres per year for the base model Taigun Comfortline MT stands at INR 37,000.
Last but not least, luxury car manufacturers such as Mercedes and BMW also offer subscription packages.
