For consumers who love having a vehicle – just maybe not all the time – Ford Motor Credit Company’s new leasing pilot program is open for business. Through the Ford Credit Link pilot, families and small groups of friends and neighbors can share a Ford vehicle.
Ford Credit Link is aimed at consumers who don’t need a vehicle all the time but would still like access to their own set of wheels. The two-year leases are available in Austin, Texas, through Covert Ford, Leif Johnson Ford and Maxwell Ford.
“We are seeing how financial products and services can help unlock more potential in the sharing economy,” says David McClelland, Ford Credit executive vice president of Marketing and Sales. “This is an opportunity for people to share the costs and benefits of having a vehicle to support their mobility.”
Households with multiple licensed drivers, neighbors with intermittent needs for a special vehicle such as a pickup truck, or friends, coworkers and college students are among the groups to which Ford Credit Link could appeal.
“Austin has the right mix of demographics and transportation habits for this pilot,” says Roby Robarge, Ford Credit future product development manager. “Central Texans embrace the sharing economy and new technologies. We think there’s a good chance that tech-savvy students, neighborhood groups and coworkers will take advantage of this one-of-a-kind program.”
Through a vehicle plug-in device and mobile app, these self-organized groups can reserve drive time, check vehicle status, keep up with maintenance, communicate with each other, view their account and make payments.
The pilot supports Ford Smart Mobility, the plan to take Ford Motor Company to the next level in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics.
Ford Credit is preparing a marketing campaign to reach even more consumers with news of the Ford Credit Link pilot. The lighthearted campaign is built around a single question – “Is it shareable?” – and will include multiple channels, such as social media, online, giveaways, coffee-cup sleeves and traditional media, over the coming weeks. It will feature items that possibly shouldn’t be shared, like toothbrushes, and items that are great to share, such as Ford vehicles through Ford Credit Link.
