While the Maven app has primarily been used to promote short-term rentals of new GM vehicles, the brand has recently expanded into the peer-to-peer car-sharing market pioneered by Turo, and Getaround. For urbanites without space for a car, or desire to keep one up, this kind of car borrowing can be the perfect compromise. Maven wants to expand their peer-to-peer operations into new territory, offering a space for people to share anything that sits idle for long periods, like boats, RVs, and lawnmowers, according to a report by Automotive News.
“If there will be a UFO that is going to be able to be shared, I would expect at some point to be able to put it on the Maven platform. “We want to bring Maven to a diversified and large marketplace that fits people’s personal needs and professional needs,” Julia Steyn, vice president of GM Urban Mobility and Maven, as quoted by Automotive News.
While the company is currently focused on expansion of their car and truck offerings, it claims to want to be more than just another Getaround. It’s possible that expanding to vehicles outside the traditional passenger car space will give them an edge.
Shared access to lawnmowers is, frankly, damn brilliant. I don’t have grass on my property, because I live in the desert, but I grew up in Michigan mowing about an acre of grass at least once every two weeks in the summer. Our ancient Lawn Horse sat idle in our barn for at least 28 days of a 30 day month. We could have been making a few bucks loaning it out to neighbors in the area. And they could have saved a few bucks by not buying an incredibly expensive riding mower of their own.
Similarly, I live near Lake Tahoe, but don’t have the time, patience, or money to keep a boat. I would love the opportunity to rent a boat for a weekend on the water without the operational expense. And an RV or travel trailer would be an amazing peer-to-peer rental experience. I’m here for it, as they say.
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In short, things are expensive and Americans are broke. This is a great opportunity for people to limit their capital expenditure on equipment that can be rented. It seems like a step in the right direction for Maven, and could be a huge revenue source for the GM subsidiary.
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