Rental Company Seeks Rideshare Partnerships as Competition Mounts

HyreCar, a rental company targeting rideshare drivers, is using the proceeds from its $12.5 million initial public offering toward forging partnerships that will improve its marketing capabilities, Chief Executive Joe Furnari told Auto Finance News.

However, analysts have spotted some red flags for the Los Angeles-based company, as net losses have outpaced revenue since its first full year of operation in 2015, according to the IPO prospectus.

Also, HyreCar is facing competition from companies that partner directly with ridesharing companies Uber and Lyft. Uber has an agreement to direct drivers looking for cars to Fair, while Lyft links with rental car companies like Hertz to offer discounts to drivers.

HyreCar, though, lacks alliances with Uber and Lyft, despite using its website to direct potential rental customers to drive for the two ridesharing platforms.

However, what differentiates HyreCar is the ability for car owners to list their vehicles on the platform for rental. In the past few weeks, HyreCar inked a deal with HopSkipDrive in Denver, a service targeted at ridesharing between young families.

Additionally, HyreCar selected communication firm MZ Group to lead its public outreach efforts. HyreCar’s shares started trading June 27 under the ticker symbol “HYRE” on the Nasdaq Capital Market. As of press time, the stock was trading at $4.92 per share, just under its $5-per-share IPO price.