San Francisco-based peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace
Turo is adding vehicles from independent car rental companies to its platform.
The new “Commercial Host” program makes Turo available in 56
countries across six continents, including destinations such as Paris,
Amsterdam, Madrid, Rome and Mexico City.
In a blog post, Turo CEO Andre Haddad wrote: “Our Commercial
Host program not only expands our footprint worldwide, giving travelers access
to cars wherever their journey takes them, but it provides Commercial Hosts - small independent car rental entrepreneurs who are able to offer commercial
rental insurance to their guests - the ability to offer their cars to our
rapidly growing global community."
Haddad also says the program also will help the company determine
where to launch its next peer-to-peer service.
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Prior to this expansion, Turo’s car-sharing rentals were
available only in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Since its launch in 2012, Turo has signed up six million members
and listings for 230,000 vehicles.
Also today Turo announced Sumitomo Corporation and American
Express Ventures have invested in the company, bringing its Series D round to
$104 million. Turo did not disclose the specific amounts of the two
investments.
Haddad wrote: “As a company that is intensely focused on
enabling its customers to have unique travel experiences, American Express’
strategic investment positions us well within the travel ecosystem. Sumitomo
Corporation will help provide guidance as we look to expand to Asia,
particularly Japan. We welcome and expect to learn from their expertise in
global marketing and customer service as Turo continues to make a huge impact
in the automotive and travel industries.”
Last week Uber announced a partnership with another
peer-to-peer platform, Getaround. The new “Uber Rent” allows users to book
Getaround’s vehicles in the Uber app.