PSA Takes First Step Toward U.S. Return With TravelCar Launch

PSA Group, parent company of Peugeot and Citroën, and France-based insurance company MAIF have partnered to bring a car-sharing service called TravelCar to the U.S. As PSA previously announced, this is the first step in its “Push to Pass” strategy to enter the U.S. market.

TravelCar is a unique service in that it lends travelers cars that are owned by other travelers. People flying out of town are offered free parking at airports. In exchange, TravelCar will rent the car out to people flying in. According to TravelCar, its rates are roughly 50 percent cheaper than a traditional rental car service, and if a car is rented the owner gets a cut of the rental charges. TravelCar will begin rolling out at LAX airport in Los Angeles and SFO airport in San Francisco beginning April 1.

How does this benefit PSA? As we previously reported, the French automaker plans to first launch mobility services in this market to study U.S. customers’ needs. This data will be valuable in planning its reentry into the U.S. market, which it says will happen by 2026. It’s possible PSA will also eventually insert its own products into U.S. TravelCar fleets to get feedback from Americans. Such data could help steer the company’s U.S.-market offerings.

“We announced our progressive entry to North America by launching mobility services with our partners,” said PSA’s head of mobility services Grégoire Olivier, in a release. “We deploy these services worldwide to meet customers’ expectations. With TravelCar today, we’re writing the beginning of this new step overseas.”

PSA hopes to bring its upscale DS brand stateside, so perhaps you’ll be able to check out a DS model on a future business trip.

Source: PSA

 

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