Henry Ford once stated that Model T customers could have their car painted “any color so long as it is black.” Now, one Austin, Texas-based car rental startup will further test that approach, though with a different car. And a different color.
Silvercar, which will launch operations next week at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, will target higher-end business customers by offering a single car model (an Audi A4 sedan) in a single color (silver) and an all-inclusive pricing scheme, in which a single daily rate pays for telematics, in-car connectivity and other features. Each car will be a roaming WiFi hotspot.
More importantly, Silvercar will eschew the traditional reservation-counter setup and instead use a system in which the reservation, payment and even vehicle entry are handled through applications downloaded to the customer’s smartphone.
Once the reservation is made, the customer will be directed to a location at the airport’s consolidated car rental facility, where he or she can scan a barcode from a phone to a pad under the driver’s-side windshield in order to access the car.
Silvercar takes the all-inclusive approach a step further by offering customers the option of returning the car with less than a full tank, then charging a per-gallon price equal to an average of local gas prices (as opposed to the multiple many of the larger companies charge) plus a $5 convenience fee to refill the car.
The company will launch with about 200 cars at DFW, with plans to expand to three other U.S. airports by year’s end.
Silvercar’s CEO is Luke Schneider, former chief technology officer at car-sharing leader and future Avis Budget subsidiary Zipcar. The company is financially backed by AustinVentures.
“Dallas is a very large rental car market and one that tries to push the envelope on technology,” Schneider said. “And you’re not competing against public transportation.”
The company chose the A4 because it’s a “premium car” that’s not “over the top, like a Bentley,” Schneider said, adding that Audi has long been an auto industry leader when it comes to connectivity. Silvercar aims to be price-competitive with full-size rental cars.
A search on Silvercar’s website revealed that a two-day weekend reservation during the first weekend of February will run $210, inclusive of all taxes and surcharges. That’s about $50 more than a full-size vehicle and about $30 less than a luxury vehicle, according to an Expedia search.
Henry Ford notwithstanding, Schneider says he’s following the approach of another U.S. business icon, Southwest Airlines co-founder Herb Kelleher, as a way to break into a highly consolidated industry by minimizing a la carte offerings and operating a single-vehicle fleet.
That might have something to do with the fact that Silvercar’s co-founder and executive chairman is Bill Diffenderffer, the former CEO of both the now-shuttered Skybus Airlines and GDS operator Amadeus and a one-time executive with Continental.
“It’s a simple business model,” Schneider said of Southwest. “You’re never surprised, and you’re never disappointed.”
Follow Danny King on Twitter @dktravelweekly.