DriveItAway expands rideshare offering to consumers, small fleets

DriveItAway is expanding its product offering to non-rideshare drivers, said Chief Executive John Possumato. The Haddonfield, N.J.-based company, which connects rideshare drivers with dealerships’ idle stock, will now connect individuals and small businesses with fleets to partnering dealerships for long-term rentals.

“The whole idea is to be this functional mobility platform,” Possumato said, noting that dealers had requested that DriveItAway make its subscription product available to non-rideshare drivers. The proposal was brought up by one of DriveItAway’s “bigger clients” in February, and the company tested the product over the past two months before rolling it out this week.

While the new offering still fits under the umbrella of “long-term rental,” the logistics required a revamp of the company’s app, Possumato said. The app is now divided into two sections: one for individual and small business subscriptions and one for rideshare drivers.

By extending the subscription service to small businesses, Possumato said he hopes to tap a “growing market,” such as small business owners that lack a fleet manager or whose business operates on a seasonal basis. A potential customer would be someone “who wants the extra convenience to give back the vehicle or keep the vehicle but doesn’t want to lock into a long-term contract,” he noted. “There’s a bit of demand from the dealers we deal with when maybe there wasn’t a year ago.”

Still, Possumato said he believes the ridesharing part of the business will continue to dominate, as subscription models have yet to break into the mainstream. “In the trade, if you say ‘subscription,’ the industry knows what you’re talking about, but the average consumer and small business owner doesn’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, adding that the idea should take hold as “the option becomes available on the showroom floor.”

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