Uber buys Aussie car-sharing start-up

American tech giant has made a massive move in Australia that will make it much easier for locals to live without a car forever.

Uber has bought Aussie start-up Car next Door.

Uber has acquired Australian start-up Car Next Door, paying an undisclosed sum for the popular car-sharing service.

Car Next Door allows people to borrow cars for short term loans – and to rent out their own car to make additional income from unused vehicles.

Uber Picture: NCA NewsWire / Sarah Matray

The American giant says offering Uber customers a chance to rent vehicles through Car Next Door makes it easier for people to live without their own car.

Will Davies, chief executive and co-founder of Car Next Door said, the partnership was an “exciting opportunity for Car Next Door to achieve our mission of ‘freeing people and the planet from the one person one car mentality’ years before we otherwise could have”.

“By working with Uber we can scale up our ambitions and look to move Australians away from the over-reliance on the private car which is damaging our planet and making our cities less liveable,” he said.

Dave Trumbull, CTO & Co-founder, Car Next Door; Dom Taylor, General Manager, Uber Australia & New Zealand; Will Davies, CEO & Co-founder, Car Next Door.

“We know that many of our members are already combining carshare and rideshare with shared bikes and scooters, walking and public transport for a mobility mix that suits their lifestyle. We’re hearing from more and more people that they no longer feel the need to own a car, because getting transport on demand saves them money and hassle. In the 10 years since Uber and we launched in Australia, attitudes to car ownership have really started to shift. We see this deal as a big step towards making car-free or car-light living accessible to more people in more places and freeing up space for people, not parking.”

Dom Taylor, general manager of Uber Australia and New Zealand, said the ride-sharing company invested in Car Next Door to give customers a new option for longer trips such as weekends away.

“This deal will change that, and mean that the Uber platform can be a reliable and convenient alternative to the choice to own a car,” he said.