Turo announced over 70 key product updates to reinvent the outdated rental car experience and turbocharge entrepreneurship

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Jun 26, 2024, 09:00 ET

Updates include limitless search to make finding and renting the perfect car easier than ever, and new host services designed to help entrepreneurs scale their businesses on Turo

SAN FRANCISCO, June 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Turo, the world's largest peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace, today announced over 70 key product updates that further strengthen the company's position as the car sharing leader, as it works to penetrate a massive $172B total addressable market. One key update puts the company's extraordinary selection of over 1,600 unique makes and models front and center, thanks to limitless search, an innovative feature that lets customers browse all of Turo's available vehicles without dates or locations. The ability to freely browse vehicles — from exotic vehicles to the latest models — is the first of its kind in the car rental or car sharing space.

The company also unveiled several features to empower its hosts, or the entrepreneurs supplying the cars on the platform, to build evermore sophisticated businesses. This includes Turo Host Services, a hub where hosts can access custom-built services, like vehicle financing and insurance, to help fuel their growth.

"Travel is increasingly expensive, and people crave change. The status quo of the last 60+ years of Big Rental has yielded a common, commodified experience that is devoid of innovation," said Turo CEO Andre Haddad. "Turo is the new way of thinking about car travel. It's a way to drive your dream car, or test drive a car before you drop $50k on it, or find the perfect car that checks all the boxes for your family vacation."

Starting today, finding and renting the perfect car has never been easier with the launch of a completely new way to browse cars on Turo. Specific features of this reimagined browsing experience include limitless search, sharable favorites lists, personalized content leveraging machine learning models, and expertly curated Collections that empower guests to get inspired and rent the exact car they want anytime for any occasion. This suite of updates marks a major departure from the traditional rental car experience — where browsing is generally confined to categories such as "midsize," "compact," or "standard" — and specific makes and models, let alone trim and extras, are seldom guaranteed.

Sharable favorites lists allow everyone, from car enthusiasts to try-before-you-buy shoppers and trip planners, to create and share bespoke lists of Turo's unique inventory. For more curated inspiration, the company is also rolling out Collections throughout the summer, so guests can select the perfect car to suit their summer vibe. Examples of Collections include Sensational Supercars, Electric Elite, Vintage Americana and Rugged 4X4s.

Turo has also launched several other features to enhance the guest experience, including:

Pay Later, offering guests the option to pay $0 at time of booking, empowering them to plan their trips with greater flexibility and convenience.
Book Instantly as the standard for all trips, which removes the need to request and wait for a host to approve a trip, making the process of renting a car more convenient and reliable.

Turo Host Services was also introduced today to help address the biggest scaling challenges hosts face: financing and insurance. Turo is working with lending partners to increase access to vehicle financing for hosts, and offering a reimagined insurance product built by a trusted partner to keep hosts' vehicles insured while they aren't on a Turo trip and reduce overhead costs. These solutions mark an expansion of services that help hosts grow their businesses, while also supporting the creation of new, high margin revenue streams. In addition to existing data, automation, and co-hosting services, financing and insurance are the latest offerings in Turo's suite of services that will continue to help hosts launch, manage, and scale their businesses.

Turo has also launched new features to help hosts grow their businesses, including:

Additional functionality for Hosting Teams, allowing hosts to invite co-hosts to manage pricing, availability, and trip details. This update provides a more streamlined experience for hosts to collaborate and delegate, while keeping sensitive information private and maintaining Turo's commitment to safety.
A new passive income hosting program, the first of its kind in car sharing in the US, inviting busy vehicle owners who don't have time to become hosts themselves to join the Turo community by partnering with seasoned Turo hosts interested in managing more vehicles. The program empowers vehicle owners to passively transform their depreciating assets into revenue generators, and hosts to expand their fleets without upfront capital — a perfect pairing that creates a win-win for car owners and our entrepreneurial hosts.

"The cost of car ownership and its outsized effect on the CPI speaks for itself. Our hosts need a reliable platform to build evermore sophisticated businesses and create exceptional experiences for their guests," says Haddad. "I'm super excited about the launch of Turo Host Services because our hosts are creative innovators, and when we give them the tools, services, and guidance they need, they deliver. To date, Turo hosts have earned over $4 billion on the platform, and I believe there's so much more economic value to be unlocked looking ahead."

About Turo
Turo is the world's largest car sharing marketplace, where you can rent the perfect car for wherever you're going from a vibrant community of trusted hosts across the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and France. Flying in from afar or looking for a car down the street, searching for a rugged truck or something smooth and swanky, you can skip the rental car counter and choose from an extraordinary, totally unique selection of nearby vehicles shared by local hosts. Entrepreneurs can take the wheel of their futures by becoming hosts and building car sharing businesses on Turo, leveraging our established platform to scale their businesses to meet their goals.

With an unwavering mission of putting the world's 1.5 billion cars to better use, Turo unlocks the hidden value in idle and underutilized assets, empowering anyone to get in the driver's seat. Find your drive® — Turo.

To learn more about Turo, please visit www.turo.com.

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SOURCE Turo Inc.