Toyota launches new car subscription service in Japan

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) announced that it has established Kinto Co., Ltd., a new company to manage and operate its car subscription service that proposes a new user-car relationship.

The new company is jointly funded by Toyota Financial Services, Co., Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota) and Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Company, Limited (a member of the Sumitomo Corporation Group).

As society shifts from conventional car ownership to car usage that can be enjoyed wherever and as much as users would like, there is a growing need for a service that allows customers to freely select the car that they like or want to drive and enjoy it as they like, instead of using a car simply as a means of transportation.

Kinto proposes a new form of vehicle ownership that invites customers to enjoy their relationship with the car of their choice in a fun and easy manner. Specifically, two services will be offered in Japan. “Kinto One” allows customers to drive one Toyota-brand vehicle over a three-year period, and “Kinto Select” allows customers to drive six models of Lexus-brand vehicles over a three-year period.

Both services are offered as a monthly fixed-sum service that packages voluntary insurance payments, vehicle tax, registration charges, and regularly scheduled maintenance of the vehicle.

Kinto Select will be offered from 6th of February 2019, and Kinto One from 1st of March 2019. Both services will be deployed on a trial basis in the Tokyo metropolitan area, with nationwide rollout scheduled from summer 2019. The number of vehicle models available as part of the service is slated for expansion from the beginning of autumn.