Toyota Announces New Subscription Service CarBuzz News Features New Cars Used Cars Sell My Car Shopping Tools Car Reviews Car Finder Compare Cars Best Cars Car Dealerships Used Car Reviews Car Advice Home News Toyota Announces New Subscription Service

Toyota Announces New Subscription Service

Nov. 05, 2018 12:40 PM ET by Jared Rosenholtz Industry News / Comments And it has an awesome Japanese name. Many automakers are starting to see the benefits of offering a subscription service. Customers want flexibility with limited commitment, which is exactly what these new subscription services offer. Very simply, subscribers pay to access either a single car or a swappable fleet from an automakers lineup for a monthly fee that, in most cases, includes insurance and maintenance. The biggest problem so far has been a lack of availability and high cost. For example, Porsche only offers its Passport in Atlanta and BMW's cheapest subscription tiers costs over $1,000 per month. What we need is a subscription service from an affordable, reliable automaker. Well, it looks like one is on the way. Toyota Toyota has announced its subscription serviced called Kinto, which will be deployed in 2019. Kinto, which means flying nimbus cloud in Japanese, will allow subscribers to freely select what type of car they'd like to drive. No details were given about how often subscribers will be able to change their cars but Toyota did mention a reward system for well-behaved subscribers. Toyota says it will "reward customers who carefully use the car as if it were their own beloved vehicle. Under this program, points will be awarded for safe or ecological driving utilizing connected technology and regular visits to dealers." We don't know if Toyota will also punish those who don't treat their cars with care but this rewards system does seem like a good way to encourage good behavior with the borrowed cars. Toyota Toyota It seems as though some of the details still need to be ironed out. Toyota explained that "we are currently considering details such as operation methods and forms for the new service, and it is planned that such a program will initially be run on a trial basis in the Tokyo area." So if Kinto sounds like a good fit for you, you're out of luck unless you live in the Tokyo area. Perhaps Toyota will eventually expand the service, though we doubt it will happen in the immediate future. Toyota seems like a perfect candidate for a subscription service thanks to its extensive model lineup. You could have a Highlander to haul the kids to school, switch to an 86 for the weekend, change into a Prius for a long business trip, then opt for a 4Runner to have some off-road fun. Too bad we'll have to wait for Toyota to offer Kinto outside of Japan. Toyota Toyota Toyota

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Toyota GR86 Toyota Highlander Toyota Prius Toyota 4Runner Jared Rosenholtz Editor-at-Large After graduating with an MBA, Jared pursued his love of cars by becoming an automotive journalist. An internship with CarBuzz grew into his current position as Editor At Large. Jared now spends most of his time evaluating new vehicles and chasing the latest news stories in the automotive industry. When he’s not attending Cars & Coffee events on the weekend, Jared loves to watch NFL football and cruise around with the top down in his German convertible. Contact Jared @Carsnbites @jar_rosenholtz LoginSign Up Home News Features Car Reviews Car Advice 2021 CarBuzz Awards New Cars Used Cars Future Cars Compare Cars Sell My Car Car Dealerships Buy Here Pay Here Used Car Reviews Popular Tags Cars # Video # TOP # Spy Shots # Reveal # Rumor # Auto Show # Supercar # Tuning # Car Culture # Industry News # Motorsport Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Make Acura Alfa Romeo Aston Martin Audi Bentley BMW Bollinger Bugatti Buick Cadillac Caterham Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Fisker Ford Genesis GMC Hennessey Honda Hyundai Infiniti Jaguar Jeep Karma Kia Koenigsegg Lamborghini Land Rover Lexus Lincoln Lordstown Lotus Lucid Motors Maserati Mazda McLaren Mercedes-Benz Mini Mitsubishi Nissan Pagani Polestar Porsche Ram Rimac Rivian Rolls-Royce Spyker Subaru Tesla Toyota Volkswagen Volvo By Car Type SUVs Crossovers Sedans Coupes Trucks Sports Cars Wagons Vans Hatchbacks Convertibles Small Cars Luxury Cars Electric Cars Hybrid Cars Future Cars By Price Up to $15K $15K - $25K $25K - $35K $35K - $45K $45K - $55K $55K - $75K $75K - $100K $100K - $200K $200K - $300K Above $300K Back To Top