LeasePlan is piloting a new app that allows private lease customers to share their cars with friends and family.

The new LeasePlan app allows private lease customers to share their cars with friends and family

Dubbed Tess, the app enables selected friends and relatives of LeasePlan’s private lease customers in the Netherlands to book the vehicle, track its parking location with the help of Google Maps and take care of all relevant administration, such as rental payments and fuel costs.

It’s intended to overcome consumers’ reluctance to share their cars, which is said to be holding the development of many car sharing platforms.

Michel Alsemgeest, chief digital officer LeasePlan, said: “People increasingly want flexible subscription services to fulfil their mobility needs, and the introduction of ‘Tess’’ fits perfectly with this trend. ‘Tess’ enables car sharing solely with your friends and family, so the trust issues that stopped many people from sharing their cars just aren’t there anymore. In addition, because ‘Tess’ allows you to easily split the costs with everyone who has driven the car, you can get it making money for you even while you’re not driving it – which makes private leasing an even more affordable option. With our customers’ feedback, we aim to work on the further rollout of ‘Tess’ and other digital car subscription services.”

Lease costs can be split evenly over all participants or can be calculated based on an hourly rate for the usage per person. Payment, including fuel costs, can be requested using the ‘Tikkie’ repayment app.