BMW Motorrad introduces rental program in Europe

BMW Motorrad presents Rent A Ride: Attractive short-term rental service for BMW motorcycles

(20 Sep 2018) Enjoy motorcycling whenever you feel like it without have to own a motorcycle yourself – BMW Motorrad will be making this possible in future with its dealer-based short-term rental service Rent A Ride. A website with smartphone capability enables customers to select the model of their choice. Availability is checked at all participating Rent A Ride partner dealerships in real time. The vehicle booking can then be finalised in the customer's selected region – complete with matching accessories and rider equipment if required. The selected motorcycle is then prepared for pick-up at the BMW Motorrad dealership in advance and the customer is given a professional briefing.

In this way, BMW Motorrad continues to expand the BMW Group's program of future-oriented activities in the area of mobility services. An on-demand mobility scheme for BMW automobiles has been available since 2011 – DriveNow.

Timo Resch, Head of International Sales and Marketing BMW Motorrad, said, "Mobility services are a future focus area that forms one of the cornerstones of our corporate strategy. By offering Rent A Ride, BMW Motorrad is advancing the BMW Group's development towards becoming a customer-oriented mobility company. If the first season of Rent A Ride goes according to expectations, the aim will be to expand the scheme to cover the full extent of the BMW Motorrad sales network."

BMW Motorrad will be launching its digital, dealer-based short-term rental service Rent A Ride in September 2018 in Germany, Austria and France, involving two selected BMW Motorrad sales partners in each country. Henning Putzke, Head of BMW Motorrad Germany, said, "This new mobility scheme gives our customers an attractive and straightforward way of familiarizing themselves closely with a wide range of our BMW motorcycle models on a non-binding basis – by taking a weekend trip, for instance." Details about the rental offers and further information can be found on the web at RentARide.com.

It is not known if or when the Rent A Ride program will come to the United States.