Digital Dealer - March 2019 - 40

D E A L E R OP S & M ANAGEM ENT: Disr u p t or s & Emergi ng Trends

Brian Allan
Senior Director of Strategic
Partnerships,
HyreCar

The Reports of
My Death Have
Been Greatly
Exaggerated
The oft-quoted headline
was Mark Twain's
response to erroneous
media reports of his
untimely demise back in
1897.
I find with great interest that media, and many
industry pundits, continue to
communicate a similar fate
for OE manufacturers' and
retail automotive dealers
today. Specifically, many
naysayers tend to believe
that the Mobility as a Service
(MaaS) industry is one of
the more immediate threats
to the OEM/dealer business
model.
I wish to share my argument that not only will OEMs
and dealers survive this
imminent threat, but they are
in the best position to serve
the MaaS industry and its
customers.
For readers that need a
brush up on some of the
lingo involved in the MaaS
industry, please allow me...
Mobility, Mobility as a
Service, and Transportation as a Service (TaaS),
are terms that are often
interchangeable to describe
'On-Demand' transportation
services. 'MaaS' services in
40

MARCH 2019

general are often consumer-centric but have commercial applications for food and
various delivery solutions
as well. Additional Mobility
applications seem to appear
daily. People often confuse
car-sharing, ride-sharing and
ride-hailing terms. 'Car-sharing' defines when the vehicle
owner is different than
the driver and that owner
typically earns income from
the use of their vehicle.
Ride-sharing and ride-hailing
tend to mean the same thing
and define smartphone appbased services designed to
request a vehicle for hire.
MaaS services are a
reality today because of the
wealth of data available via
vehicle telematics, smartphone device connectivity
and innovative insurance
solutions. MaaS applications are based on real-time
and on-demand platforms
that intuitively engage the
user. These 'apps' are
transactional and make
utilizing them efficient, and
even fun. The applications
service many transportation
verticals. MaaS apps exist
for bike-sharing, taxis, car
rentals, flexible leases, ve-

D I G I TA L D E A L E R . C O M

hicle subscription programs,
and today, even airplanes
and scooters!
Typically, MaaS platforms
conveniently administer
most anything for the asset
owner and user, including
vehicle location, operational
and behavior metrics, and
payment transactions.
The usual narrative
around MaaS tends to
include conversation that
describes a consumer's shift
away from personally-owned
vehicles. Several authorities
on MaaS base their negative
assertions on a theory that
less vehicles will ultimately
be purchased by private
owners. Their foundational
assumption is that consumers will only pay for transportation when they need it,
thus they won't need to own
a personal vehicle 24/7 and
the consumer will pay less
overall for their transportation needs.
The good news for OEMs
and dealers is, whether the
consumer owns a vehicle
or not, someone must own
a vehicle for MaaS to work.
Furthermore, if MaaS services continue to experience
the exponential growth we

are witnessing today, more
then ever will need to be sold
to feed the MaaS eco-system. Herein lies the opportunity.
There are at least two
irrefutable business cases for
today's dealer to profit from
the MaaS industry.
1. Own a fleet of vehicles
dedicated to MaaS services. These services can
be used to provide vehicles
for ride-sharing services like
Uber/Lyft, or on-demand
food delivery services like
GrubHub, and other package
delivery services.
2. Sell vehicles to MaaS
individuals, entities and fleet
owners and provide dedicated vehicle maintenance and
repair services.
The dealer's proximity to
the marketplace allows them
to best serve and engage
with ride-share drivers and
the Maas community. The
dealer is closest to the customer.
Additional important
points to understand are;
the dealer already owns
the infrastructure and the
necessary resources to enter
the MaaS business with little
to no capital investment. The
well-known companies in
carsharing and ridesharing
today only own the technology. Technology is the
least expensive and most
replicable part of the MaaS
eco-system. Additionally, the
technology is the weakest
relationship link to the vehicle
owners and drivers. OE manufacturers are now realizing
that the current dealer body
is their best asset to protect
the respective OEM brands'
relationships with customers
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Digital Dealer - March 2019

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