Jeep and Free2Move Hope to Shake up the Rental Car Market

Summer is the peak season for car rentals and rental demand is up. People stuck at home during the COVID 19 pandemic have decided that now is the time to travel. Demand is up plus rental supplies are low. Many rental companies trimmed their fleets during the pandemic because of low demand, other rental companies sold many of their vehicles because the slowdown in new vehicle production made vehicle values skyrocket. Now, Jeep is making Jeep Compass and Jeep Renegade vehicles available through a car-sharing company that Stellantis controls called Free2Move.

What is Free2Move?

Free2Move is a car sharing company that runs through an app on your phone. Earlier this year, Jeep’s parent company, Stellantis bought Mercedes’ share of the business. Free2Move is similar to the old car2go and DriveNow car sharing programs that dissolved in the U.S. a few years ago.

Free2Move has established Mobility Hubs across the U.S. in major cities, including here in Denver, Colorado. I have seen several of the Jeep Free2Move vehicles, like the one picture, pop up in our Denver neighborhood. The app allows the driver to access vehicles “by the minute, by the week or by the month.” According to Free2Move, it has helped customers “who need simple and reliable access to vehicles, without the long-term constraints that vehicle ownership entails.”

The company claims that rentals are soaring. “The rental demand is already exploding over the past three months, +40% every month. Summer marks a peak season for the car rental market. At Free2Move, 44% of all bookings have a duration of one week or more, and 16% of booking are created for long weekends. Demand is already ramping up, with a 22% increase in May bookings compared to those from April.”

Once rented, the vehicles can be taken wherever the customer desires, with a 150 miles per day default. Free2Move also operates around the world with “more than 450,000 vehicles available in 170 countries.” The short term rental could really help travelers who may not need a car during their whole trip, but only for a day or two or even for an afternoon.

Free2Move Offers Jeep Renegade and Jeep Compass

Jeep Renegade competes in the growing subcompact sport-utility vehicle (SUV) segment, and can have the 4x4 capability for which Jeep is known.

The Jeep Compass is larger than the Renegade. It competes in the compact SUV segment and typically is outfitted with more bells-and-whistles than the Renegade.

For people traveling in the U.S. this summer, only Jeep Renegade or Jeep Compass vehicles are available. Across Europe, Free2Move customers have many more options depending on the country. They even have electric, plug-in hybrid or gasoline-powered vehicles available. Free2Move may be the answer if your other typical car rental options are now unrealistic.

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Mary Conway is a professional automotive journalist and has decades of experience specializing in automotive news analysis. She covered the Detroit Three for more than twenty years for the ABC affiliate, in Detroit. Her affection for the Motor City comes naturally. Her father ran a gas station while Mary was growing up, in Wisconsin.

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