Mazda has started mulling a subscription service
There's at least there's been some thought about one in the UK.
Subscription services have largely been relegated to smartphones, streaming platforms and other services, yet the idea has started to trickle into the big, bad car-buying world. A handful of (mostly luxury) automakers have tossed their hats into the ring, but now perhaps Mazda is thinking about such a move.
It would appear so, according to comments from the company's managing director in the UK. Autocar quoted Jeremy Thomson in a Tuesday report saying there's been some "early thinking" surrounding a subscription service, and Mazda thinks there's a place for it in the future. This is, of course, with reference to the UK -- a far smaller auto market than the US by a large measure.
In any case, the triumph or failure of a subscription service in the UK could perhaps provide insight into whether a similar service might work for the US. Mazda didn't immediately respond when asked about any early thoughts for a US program.
Thomson cited younger car buyers as a reason for the early thinking around a subscription program. He said these buyers often enjoy a "simpler" way to navigate car ownership, including how to swap into a new one. Numerous pilot subscription services usually give subscribers a way to switch cars within a certain time frame at least once.
In the case of Care by Volvo, perhaps the most bold service in the US currently, the program provides a car, insurance, maintenance and the ability to change vehicles after the annual period is up. If you do want to swap into a different Volvo ahead of time, that's allowed, but the clock resets on your year-long subscription.
It's not clear how a brand like Mazda, which, even as it plays in a more premium space these days, is not a luxury brand, would handle such a program. It could follow Care by Volvo's pattern, or perhaps divvy cars into tiers for people to subscribe to. In any case, it sounds like such a service, if it happens, is still a ways out.
