Take a car and return it whenever you want

Understanding how the street dynamics will be (and having custom services) seems to be one of the great concerns of the technology industry.

With the concept of mobility as a service, companies like Uber took the first step by offering platforms that solve short transfers, as well as positioning themselves alongside traditional remises and taxi companies.

However, another front that is gaining strength within the world of mobility is that of carsharing. Leveraged by startups and large automotive companies, these shared car services are transforming the relationship of people with vehicles.

Argentina, for its part, already has its own first service. This is MyKeego, a startup founded by the brothers Jerónimo and Rodrigo Pérez Terra, who after working for four years with a traditional leasing company decided to form their own fleet of vehicles and create their car rental system.

"The idea of ââour carsharing model is that you do not have to own a car, today, maintaining a vehicle is expensive and day by day it becomes very expensive, but we want you to be able to use them when you really need it," Rodrigo explains. Pérez Terra to iProUP and adds that you can find a unit and reserve it in just 15 seconds.

After completing a registration form -in which the credentials are requested to verify their identity, in addition to a credit card as a backup and means of payment-, users can now access any of the 35 cars available in the Federal Capital.

Once this process is completed, the client can approach one of the Keego points of Belgrano, Palermo, Colegiales, San Isidro and Aeroparque; Enable the transport doors with the app and start driving. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In addition to having a one hundred percent digital identity, the brothers decided to give a twist to the fuel control system. Unlike traditional landlords, the application records what percentage of naphtha the rent starts with and how much it ends.

If you do not register changes, then you do not charge a difference. Otherwise, the cost is transferred to the value of the service station. The interesting thing is that if the user returns it with more fuel, that credit is in his favor for a next rental.

"We try to eliminate the preconception that people have and that is why we make everything transparent, the idea is that you know how much you are going to pay at the time of taking the car," the co-founder adds.

Cover local demand
In the search to modernize the processes, MyKeego does not ask users for any type of physical signature or cumbersome bureaucratic process. Part of this idea is to target a segment that traditional rents do not touch: the local public.

At this point, Pérez Terra explains: "They have a focus on tourism and we, if you live in Capital, do not have a car if you do not need it every day, it's part of the flexibility and innovation we promote in transportation. "

So much so that, according to the entrepreneur, his clients "return the cars in good condition, they comply with the stipulated times and are very satisfied with the service".

Part of this success is related to the team behind the vehicles. To take care of them there are people throughout the week scouring the points and checking that they are in conditions.

In case of finding a flaw, the platform -which had internal development and also outsourced- has a 24-7 assistance service to solve the problems.

Today, the portfolio has four models available: Renault Sandero and three versions of the Toyota Etios (5 doors and manual box, 5 doors and automatic box and 4 doors with automatic changes).

In all cases, MyKeego charges per minute. For example, the Sandero costs $ 7.03 per minute (up to 37 '), $ 260 per hour or $ 1,300 per day (from the fifth hour).

With respect to the profile of the users, it is about people from 18 to 35 years old, of which 50% do not have a car and live in Capital.

"In general, they are couples without children or young families, they are people who are involved with sustainability, who seek comfort above all and have the concept of the immediacy of the service," says Pérez Terra at iProUP.

With the North Zone covered, the company seeks to operate its operation to expand to new neighborhoods in the city of Buenos Aires, as well as to the interior of the country and, in the short term, to the regional level. The key is organic growth.

Competition
MyKeego is not the only company that is developing a car rental service. Recently, both Toyota and Mercedes-Benz confirmed that Argentina will receive its carsharing platforms.

The concern of the companies is related to a generational and consumer change: the millennials are acquiring an increasingly relevant role and are not interested in having a car stored in the garage of their house and paying a high cost for its maintenance. In general, these new customers prefer to mobilize without much responsibility and request a vehicle at the time they need it.

"In five years new competitors will come to the market," said Daniel Herrero, Toyota's number one, to iProUP.

"That's why we want to change from being a car manufacturer to a mobility services company," the executive added when presenting Mobility Services.

The offer of the Japanese starts at $ 402 per hour, which corresponds to the cheapest of the range, the Etios, while per day the value climbs to $ 1,609, as anticipated iProUP.

From this premise, the project was to make vehicles available to the needs of the people, with a comprehensive proposal, a complete lineup of models -including the Lexus premium brand- available at any time and place.

This car-to-go concept aims for users to use the service as if it were an Uber, to get from point A to point B, with a wide range of possibilities. And the visibility that large companies offer to the segment also impacts local solutions.

For its part, Mercedes Benz also has a customized mobility system and extended its services to other companies in the field. This is teneslugar.com, which allows the employees of the associated companies to connect to share the car on the way to work.

"Nobody knows what the final path of this technological revolution is, but we understand that the platforms are going to handle the future." Starting with this proposal in Argentina puts us at the forefront worldwide and allows us to learn from our customers, "explains Josefina Furlong, head of RSE at Mercedes-Benz Argentina, at iProUP.

With a future that aims at mobility as a service, MyKeego expects to have between 50 and 100 vehicles on the street by the end of this year, expand to new markets, as well as a club of benefits for customers, more garages and a variety of vehicles. With more and more options on the street, mobility is consolidated under the on-demand system.

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