If you’re an automaker, how do you get the next generation of car buyers to pay attention to your new models?
One way has traditionally been by putting your cars into rental fleets. But some companies only rent to drivers 25 and up, so what to do about college students?
For Ford, there’s now a one-word answer: Zipcar.
Zipcar on campus
The popular and growing car-sharing service [NSDQ:ZIP] has made a concerted effort to place its cars on or near college campuses, offering students the options of cars when they need them without the burden and cost of parking, insurance, and maintenance when they don’t.
University administrators like the college car-sharing schemes too, since shared cars reduce the space required for parking student vehicles. On space-constrained campuses (meaning most of them), that’s real estate that could more productively be used for classroom buildings, research labs, or dormitories.
Ford will be the largest single provider of vehicles to Zipcar’s more than 250 college locations, the two companies announced on August 31st. The agreement will run for two years, and Ford vehicles arriving on campuses now will be available to student members starting September 1st.
