In addition to being centred at dealerships, the car-share service, called Hui (who-ee, which means meeting in Hawaiian) is also available at selected shops and business centres throughout Hawaii.
The service is a joint venture between Toyota’s car-share and technology arm, Toyota Connected North America (TCNA), and Hawaiian-based Toyota, Lexus and Subaru distributor and retailer Servco Pacific Inc.
Servco Pacific also owns Servco Australia which, with equity partners and dealer principals, has 14 Toyota dealerships, two Lexus dealerships, one each for Subaru, Isuzu and Chrysler, and one Hino dealership in Australia with outlets in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns, Sunshine Coast, Dubbo, Echuca and Perth.
The company has a turnover of almost $A1.2 billion and has 900 staff.
Servco Pacific CEO Mark Fukunaga last week in Hawaii said the company planned to expand the service throughout Hawaii and then to the dealerships it owns in Australia.
“Hui is a global pilot program for Toyota’s shared-mobility service platform,” he said.
“It is a 24/7 amenity designed to complement bike share, public transportation, ride share, and other existing mobility options.”
Servco Pacific senior corporate communication and marketing manager Casey Nishimura told GoAutoNews Premium that Hui was created as a collaboration between Servco and TCNA.
“Essentially, TCNA was our technology partner which developed the Hui car-share app and hardware on the Toyota Mobility Services Platform,” he said.
“The Hui team in Hawaii focuses on the operational and marketing aspects of car share along with providing constant feedback on the app and back-end build.
“On the operational side, we took care of items such as securing physical station locations, vehicles, hardware installation, insurance, marketing (digital, traditional, education, etc.), branding, signage, partnerships, customer-facing legal agreements, service, call centre, roadside, maintenance, cleaning and so on.”
Mr Nishimura said the collaboration between Servco and TCNA did not preclude other dealerships or distributors from participating.
“We really created a model that other Toyota dealer groups or distributors around the world could emulate in their respective market,” he said.
TCNA spokesperson Craig Keller said the service was launched last week and it was too early to collect data to gauge the interest level of customers.
“What I can tell you is that we exceeded over 2000 downloads of the Hui car-share app within the first week,” he said.
“Hui is the first public application of Toyota’s Mobility Services Platform (MSPF), which is the car-maker’s core system on which to develop new mobility businesses, such as car sharing, ride sharing and remote delivery.
“The platform gives fleet operators the capability to launch their own car-share programs, capitalising on the strength of their local expertise, while supporting leading-edge mobility-use cases as they arise.
“Toyota and Lexus dealers are showing interest in car sharing, so it’s certainly possible that we may expand this effort within the US and beyond, as our app-based model can be customised for different markets and includes fleet-management tools with a variety of applications.”
Toyota also has car-sharing interests through its trading division, Toyota Tsusho Corporation. It has invested $US1 billion ($A1.35b) in Asian ride-share business, Grab, that is now valued at $US10 billion ($A13.5b).
It also has investments in Japan’s Uber rival, Japan Taxi, and is working with Amazon to develop an autonomous delivery shuttle.
Hui has 70 vehicles available for reservations by the hour or day at more than 25 locations throughout Honolulu.
Vehicles available at launch include Toyota’s Prius, Prius Prime and Camry, as well as more upmarket models, such as the Lexus RX SUV.
The vehicles are parked in marked, reserved bays at locations where Hui has partnered with private businesses, including a Foodland shopping centre and the Hawaii Pacific University.
Hui director Mr Fukunaga said the locations had to be easily accessible, convenient and reliable.
He said more stations are being added to the island of Oahu and planning is going ahead to expand to adjoining islands.
Hui’s members use the app to locate, reserve, and manage payments. It uses Toyota’s Smart Key Box technology developed by TCNA that generates a digital key to allow Hui users to lock and unlock, as well as start vehicles via their smartphone.
Vehicles can be reserved by the hour or day as the program is designed to replace or supplement vehicle ownership.
Users need a valid driver’s license and a driving record that meets Hui guidelines. Then they download the app onto their phone, register as a member, then search for the nearest vehicle and reserve a date and time.
Hui users join a membership plan and then pay from $US9.95 ($A13.43) an hour and $US79.95 ($A108) a day, plus a monthly fee that will be waived for at least the first three months after launch.
The company plans to introduce a second “pay-as-you-go” membership plan later this year. It features no monthly fee but higher hourly rates.
All membership plans include fuel, insurance, taxes, fees and 24/7 roadside assistance in the reservation cost.
Access and memberships are arranged by the Hui app, meaning customers do not have to talk to anyone.
By Neil Dowling
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