French startup Drivy is expanding to another European country. This time, the company is launching in the U.K. For now, the service is mostly live in London and it’s slowly going to expand across the U.K. throughout 2018.
The company has been somewhat careful when it comes to international rollout, with only six European countries in seven years. Drivy already has 1.5 million users in France, Germany, Spain, Austria and Belgium.
Drivy raised $35 million in order to become the largest car rental marketplace in Europe. And now that major European cities are fostering public transportation and bikes, a marketplace likes Drivy makes a lot of sense.
Most cars just stay idle in a parking space for days or even weeks. Drivy lets you list your car so that other users can rent your car and bring it back later. The company has signed a deal with Allianz to insure your car.
As for clients, you can easily find a car around you on Drivy if you live in a dense city. In some cases, you can even unlock your car with your phone just like on Zipcar. Some superusers are listing multiple cars on Drivy thanks to this automated system called Drivy Open.
The startup wants to attract as many car owners as possible in the U.K. That’s why you’ll get a minimum monthly income of £250 for listing a car, even if nobody rents it. After a while, Drivy will probably remove this bonus when there are enough clients.