EV rental service Autonomy to add 20,000 EVs by 2023

California’s EV subscription service Autonomy has partnered with America’s largest automotive retailer AutoNation. Autonomy wants to expand the portfolio from Tesla cars into several EV brands and launch in more states across the US.

Autonomy plans to buy up to 20,000 electric vehicles over the next 12 – 18 months with the support of AutoNation. The retailer will also provide vehicle preparation and delivery services for Autonomy customers and maintenance and repair services for its growing fleet of subscription vehicles.

“This partnership allows Autonomy to drastically accelerate and diversify its vehicle lineup with a 20,000-vehicle order over the next 12-18 months while paving a clear and aggressive path for national expansion,” said Scott Painter, founder and CEO of Autonomy. “Just as importantly, this also allows Autonomy to remain capital efficient and infrastructure light,” he added.

Scott Painter launched Autonomy in January this year, starting with a hundred Tesla Model 3 for rent. The company then proved a quick way to get your hands on an electric (Tesla) vehicle since Autonomy was flexible on configurations.

Autonomy also includes the Model Y in the range since July. “We’re seeing five times the demand we anticipated for our Tesla Model 3 program, and with gas prices soaring, we knew it was time to expand our lineup to include a popular crossover, such as the Model Y,” Painter said at the time.

Subscribers can opt in or out monthly after a three-month minimum hold period. The whole process can be done via the Autonomy app. Prices vary, with one option being an initial fee of $5,500 and a monthly rate of $550. Looking at the Tesla website for comparison, we found a 36-month lease of a blue Model 3 Long Range vehicle requires an estimated $4,500 down with $561 a month payments.

So Autonomy’s claim of being the cheapest way to get a Tesla may be taken with a grain of salt. In any case, Autonomy might indeed be one of the fastest ways to get an electric car as a service. Apart from the claimed ten-minute registration, the startup also states that the vehicle delivery or pick up at a dealership would transpire in under twenty minutes. This is likely where AutoNation will prove most helpful.

The partners did not disclose which other EVs Autonomy will include in the subscriptions.

businesswire.com (AutoNation), businesswire.com (Model Y)