The new coronavirus has led to new uses for cars.


The need to avoid the congestion of public transportation and travel by car is increasing, and the number of users of services that can use a car for a fixed monthly fee is increasing.

This service is called a subscription, and unlike a rental car that pays a fee each time you use it, you can use the car on a monthly or yearly basis by paying a monthly fee.



At a company specializing in Toyota Motor's cars, the number of applications for the five months from July has increased eight-fold from the same period of the previous year, and we are embarking on enhancing services such as launching a dedicated car model.



In addition, the number of applications for venture companies in Tokyo in the first half of this year is nearly four times that of the same period in the previous year, and Honda, which started its business in January, initially has only one store in Saitama Prefecture. However, as the number of users increased, we increased the number to more than 30 stores.



As the need to avoid congestion on public transportation and travel by car increases due to the influence of the new coronavirus, insurance premiums and taxes are included in the monthly fee, which saves the trouble of individual procedures and payments. We believe that this has led to an increase in users, and each company has decided to strengthen its business in the future.



Honda's Tomoko Maeda said, "We want to further develop this service, which matches the needs of traveling in the corona virus."

The user

A 40-year-old office worker living in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, has been using a car with a subscription since July, and is using it for picking up children's lessons and shopping.



I am using a 5-seater compact car, and the monthly fee is about 40,000 yen.



This means that the 5-year contract includes all insurance premiums, taxes, vehicle inspections, etc.



For the past 10 years or so, men have been using car sharing when they need a car after giving up their car when they were transferred to Tokyo.



However, the new coronavirus has made me want to refrain from using public transportation and car sharing, which I do not know who used it in front of me.



In addition, it is expensive to buy a car and the procedure is complicated, so I decided to use the car with a subscription.



Men said, "Car sharing is cheaper in terms of cost, but it is convenient to use the car whenever you like with a subscription. I have not been able to go out yet, so I would like to use it for family trips etc. once the infection spread has subsided. I was talking.

Awareness survey “By car to avoid congestion”

A consumer sentiment survey conducted last month by a car subscription service company shows that more and more people want to drive to avoid congestion.



In November, Toyota Motor's subscription company "KINTO" conducted a survey of approximately 1800 people in their 20s and 60s nationwide via the Internet.



According to this, as the infection of the new coronavirus spreads, when asked by multiple answers how they would like to move, ▽ walking was the most common at 82.9%, followed by ▽ private cars at 80% and ▽ bicycles at 62.3%. ▽ Trains account for 35.3% ▽ Buses account for 24.9%, and private cars exceed public transportation.



In addition, when we asked people who do not have a car how they would like to have a car in the future, 41.8% took out a loan and 39.6% made a bulk purchase with cash.



On the other hand, subscriptions are still small at 10.9%, a significant increase from 2.5% in the same survey six months ago.



Shinya Kodera, president of KINTO, said, "There is a growing need to use a car due to the influence of the new coronavirus. Through subscription, we will pursue not just a mobile tool but also the enjoyment of a car. I want to. "