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An Australian car sharing platform has received a $6.2 million investment from South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai.
The capital injection brings the total amount invested in Car Next Door by Hyundai to $8.2 million.
Hyundai Australia CEO JW Lee says the investment into the Australian startup further aligns the manufacturer with the fast-growing carsharing model.
"We are pleased to directly collaborate with peer-to-peer marketplace Car Next Door to open up new mobility options and expand the use of a car for a Hyundai car owner," says Lee.
"This is the future of connected green cars, where the ability to car share is built into the hard-wiring of the car making it easy for one car to be used by multiple people."
"This capability has been pre-installed and seamlessly integrated into Hyundai cars, making it easy for Hyundai owners to earn extra money from their car when they are not using it via Car Next Door's innovative sharing platform."
"Other features include access and ability to unlock and start the car via a mobile phone app - ultimately negating the need for traditional keys."
Car Next Door CEO and co-founder Will Davies (pictured) says the car sharing economy is just starting to gain some serious momentum in Australia.
"Car Next Door provides car owners with immediate access to our network of 150,000 car borrowers making it really easy for car owners to offset the cost of their vehicle," says Davies.
"The average car in Australia is used for only 4 percent of the time. For that 96 percent of the time they sit idle, they could be used to create an extra income and help to reduce parking congestion and pressure on our roads."
Hyndai struck up the partnership with Car Next Door in July 2018 to ensure its cars would become the first 'sharing ready' vehicles in the Australian market.
Under the collaboration, Car Next Door's tech-platform is included in a range of Hyundai cars.
Any Hyundai vehicle with Auto Link Premium, can now be shared with neighbours with the click of a button. For owners of recent Hyundai vehicles, the connective technology can be installed in minutes.
Vetted members can access and drive Hyundai vehicles simply by using their phones, negating the need for traditional keys.
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