Mini Sharing is coming to South Africa

In a South African first, Mini is preparing to launch Mini Sharing, a service that enables drivers to get behind the wheel of their favourite Mini with just a few taps on their smartphones.

The one-way car sharing scheme is being tested for local conditions ahead of its launch in the third quarter of 2020 as a pilot programme in Sandton. Initially, Mini Sharing will be available to a closed group of users, although plans are afoot to expand the offering to other urban locations within SA.

The scheme is being explored in response to a growing local demand for flexible urban mobility services, says BMW SA’s Hailey Philander.

“Where the lack of parking, congestion and high costs mean that fewer people use their own cars, Mini Sharing is designed to be as convenient as driving your own car.”

It is similar to the ShareNow one-way car sharing service offered in Europe and other parts of the world.

In contrast to classic car rental, where a vehicle is rented at a designated location and typically returned after one or more days, one-way car sharing allows the use of freely parked vehicles in a city.

Vehicles can be found and rented through a phone app, and can be parked back anywhere in the business area of the city.

Mini Sharing will be accessible via a smartphone app that will be used to register the user, load driving licence information and register the payment method, among other features.