Audi is continuing its car-sharing experiments with a new service called Audi At Home, launching at luxury condominiums in San Francisco and Miami. The previously-announced car-sharing service allows users to access a fleet of Audi vehicles using their smartphones.
Like the Audi On Demand service previously launched as a public beta in San Francisco, Audi At Home is like a one-brand Zipcar, with multiple Audi models that users can book for short-term rentals. In this case, the cars are kept on condo property and maintained for immediate use.
Audi At Home will launch at the Lumina by Tishman Speyer luxury condo project in San Francisco, and at the Four Seasons Residences in Miami. Audi says the service will expand to other U.S. cities as well. Available cars currently include S5, RS5, and TT convertibles, plus the S7, SQ5, and Q7. All models are equipped with the top Prestige trim.
Interested residents can register for Audi At Home through their condos’ concierge services, and sign in on a mobile-specific website to reserve cars. When they’re done, drivers simply drop the keys with the valet. Audi will charge unspecified hourly and daily rates that cover all associated costs, including fuel and local tolls. Mileage is unlimited.
Audi At Home joins other Audi car-sharing service projects. Audi On Demand works on similar principles, but actually delivers cars to residents in San Francisco wherever they might be. Last year, the company also launched a service called Audi Unite in Sweden, which allows groups of people to share custodianship of a car.
As more urban residents look to car sharing as an alternative to outright ownership, carmakers are looking to get in on the action. Daimler already operates a full-scale car-sharing service called Car2Go, and BMW previously offered its DriveNow service in the U.S. Other carmakers, including General Motors and Nissan, are experimenting with smaller-scale services as well.
