GMF Caters to Subprime Borrowers for Uber Rideshare Program

General Motors Co.’s mobility brand Maven is partnering with Uber to lease vehicles for as little as a week at a time, and is catering to subprime borrowers that would otherwise not be able to afford an appropriate rideshare vehicle, said Annalisa Bluhm, GM’s manager of urban mobility and Maven communications.

“If you are in a situation where your credit score is relatively low, the monthly cost to lease or rent a [traditional] vehicle becomes very high,” Bluhm told AFN.

For $179 a week plus taxes and fees, users receive insurance, maintenance, and the vehicle itself to earn money on Uber, she said. That adds up to $716 a month before taxes and fees, but given that there’s no down payment, Bluhm argues the price is competitive for what subprime customers would get otherwise.

“There are a number of other services that provide similar access to transportation on a short term basis, but the difference here is that our pricing is pretty transparent, it’s all one stop shopping so with us you get the maintenance, you get the insurance, you get the vehicle, and the cars are pretty nice,” Bluhm said. “When you look at what else you’d be getting for that price potentially, our cars are favorable.”

The vehicles are all off-lease cars with six to 18 months of service, which aids GM in its remarketing department, she added.

“From a residual stand point that helps us because we can be thoughtful about the vehicles we’re utilizing. There’s a reason we chose Equinoxes, there’s a reason we’re choosing Cruze and Malibu,” Bluhm said. “It’s only additive to GM’s core business.”