Audi On Demand Is Giving Motorists New and Convenient Ways to Get Behind the Wheel
When it comes to getting a rental vehicle, convenience doesn't always seem to be part of the equation. You can't drive your vehicle until you get to the rental location, can you? This requires you to arrange a lift, fork out more money for a taxi, or take another form of public transport. It seems like an unnecessary hurdle to have to leap over to obtain transport, especially considering your need for transport is the reason you're renting a car in the first place.
Thankfully, Audi has some great ideas to empower its customers to access rental vehicles via its innovative Audi On Demand service.
Audi On Demand
The Audi On Demand experience starts with a powerful mobile app, through which the service can be accessed from any location with coverage on any compatible mobile device. Once the service is fully rolled out, you will rarely find yourself in a location where you are unable to rent an Audi.
Through the app, you can book an Audi of your choice within a few minutes, and have it ready for collection within 30 minutes or reserve it for later. However, the really great feature which customers can now access is the built-in maps function.
All customers need to do is drop a pin on their location - in the same fashion as getting directions from Google Maps - to let Audi know where they are. Audi will then dispatch a concierge to deliver the vehicle of your choice - model and color - to your present location. The catchment area for delivery is marked on the map in red, making it simple to see whether you are in range of the service or not.
If your present or chosen location is not within the catchment area for delivery, the map will instead display the nearest hub from which your vehicle can be collected.
When the concierge arrives with your rental, they will take you through all the car's features, ensuring you are familiar not only with the famous luxury elements of Audi cars, but also the safety features, as well. Once you are happy with everything, the concierge sorts out the rental paperwork and makes their way back to the hub.
"We have made some changes," says Audi. "You can now choose between pick-up and delivery as well as return and retrieval using our new map module. The Audi On Demand team strives to make things as convenient as possible for you. This is why we deliver the model of your choice to your doorstep. We are also constantly working on improving our service and now submitting your delivery and retrieval location has just become much easier via our new map feature."
When the rental period has ended, the concierge can return to a specified location to collect the car from the customer, or it can be returned by the driver to one of the rental hubs.
An Expanding Service
Until recently, the Audi On Demand service was only available in Asia, but the company has now expanded into the UK market as well. With new hubs in Manchester, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, drivers in the north of the UK can now enjoy this unprecedented car rental delivery convenience for themselves.
"The distinctive feature of the locations in the UK is the integration into a dealership," said Audi in a press release. "For the first time in Europe, dealers act as the contact point for vehicle handover for Audi On Demand customers. The Audi partner therefore also benefits from this new digital business area. Interested customers reserve their preferred model simply and quickly via the mobile website and collect it directly from the Audi dealer. Alternatively, they can use the concierge service to have their ordered car delivered to and picked up from locations within 30 minutes' drive of the Audi center."
Final Thoughts
Delivering vehicles is no small task, but with its new concierge service, Audi is making sure its rental customers have access to high-quality vehicles of all shapes and sizes, for business and pleasure, wherever they may find themselves.
It will be interesting to see whether the service will continue to find success in the western market, spread across the UK, and eventually find its way to these shores as well.
eCommerce in the auto industry is set to be a hot topic at Digital Travel Connect, taking place in October.
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