...as recession makes buying vehicles too expensive
Until now it has been a niche market. But with the recession making car-buying too expensive for many people, pay-as-you-drive could become as widespread as renting a DVD.
Major motor manufacturers are all planning to launch their own schemes.
The first to be rolled out will be by Peugeot, starting in London next month before extending across the country.
Ready to go: This Peugeot cabriolet could cost ?90 for a day
It aims to make swapping between cars as simple as a rental from a video store - with a payment scheme more like that used for pay-as-you-go phones.
In return for a ?10 membership fee, members have access to a range of vehicles - from small urban cars to people movers and even scooters and bicycles - which they can use by the day, weekend, week, or 10-day period.
They can be swapped around to suit need or mood.
Drivers will be given a pre-pay card on which credits can be topped up online - either by direct payments or with loyalty points - in the way that people now routinely top up the credits on their phones.
Peugeot will launch its first UK scheme at a South London dealership next month.
The next areas are likely to be Bath and Bristol and the Midlands. Similar schemes are already running in France, in Paris, Brest, Lyon, Rennes and Nantes.
Peugeot is still working out the pricing for its UK scheme, but, based on the French experience, the cost of hiring a small 207 supermini could be ?56 a day, ?100 for a weekend, ?300 for a week, or ?380 for ten days.
An open-topped cabriolet could range from ?90 to ?600.
Although companies such as StreetCar already offer carsharing schemes, this is the first time manufacturers have entered the market.
Daimler is trialling a payasyou go system called Car2Go in Germany and Texas and it could come to Britain.
The schemes are an acceptance by car firms that younger people and the cash-strapped want personal wheels to get around, but without the hassle of ownership.
The economic downturn has seen millions of families trying to trim their budgets.
Until now it has been a niche market. But with the recession making car-buying too expensive for many people, pay-as-you-drive could become as widespread as renting a DVD.
Major motor manufacturers are all planning to launch their own schemes.
The first to be rolled out will be by Peugeot, starting in London next month before extending across the country.
Ready to go: This Peugeot cabriolet could cost ?90 for a dayIt aims to make swapping between cars as simple as a rental from a video store - with a payment scheme more like that used for pay-as-you-go phones.
In return for a ?10 membership fee, members have access to a range of vehicles - from small urban cars to people movers and even scooters and bicycles - which they can use by the day, weekend, week, or 10-day period.
They can be swapped around to suit need or mood.
Drivers will be given a pre-pay card on which credits can be topped up online - either by direct payments or with loyalty points - in the way that people now routinely top up the credits on their phones.
Peugeot will launch its first UK scheme at a South London dealership next month.
The next areas are likely to be Bath and Bristol and the Midlands. Similar schemes are already running in France, in Paris, Brest, Lyon, Rennes and Nantes.
Peugeot is still working out the pricing for its UK scheme, but, based on the French experience, the cost of hiring a small 207 supermini could be ?56 a day, ?100 for a weekend, ?300 for a week, or ?380 for ten days.
An open-topped cabriolet could range from ?90 to ?600.
Although companies such as StreetCar already offer carsharing schemes, this is the first time manufacturers have entered the market.
Daimler is trialling a payasyou go system called Car2Go in Germany and Texas and it could come to Britain.
The schemes are an acceptance by car firms that younger people and the cash-strapped want personal wheels to get around, but without the hassle of ownership.
The economic downturn has seen millions of families trying to trim their budgets.
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