Is Pay-as-you-go The Way Forward For The Motor Trade?

In today’s world, there’s a subscription for everything. Whether it’s food, music, TV or even toilet roll. These days you can source everything for a small monthly fee.  

Finance deals have long been a standard part of motoring. You’re essentially paying for a car subscription if you sign a Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) for your vehicle. 

In recent years, these ‘subscriptions’ have expanded. You can now get a car subscription with insurance and other extras included for one set monthly fee.  

This sounds like a sensible idea. But what about subscription parts? 

Pay-as-you-go Tyres 

Specialist tyre manufacturer, Enso, recently announced the launch of a pay-per-mile tyre subscription. This subscription is designed specifically for electric vehicles (EVs) as the increased weight and torque of EVs contribute to significantly higher rates of tyre wear.  

The tyre is called the TX1. They are designed to extend the range of EVs whilst also reducing air pollution from tyre wear. They recently helped Mission Motorsport break the hypermiling record for EVs. Using Enso’s TX1’s they managed to smash the previous record by over 120 miles! 

The subscription for these tyres works out at about 1p per mile, with no upfront cost. Enso have partnered with finance specialist Zeti for a trial on 100 black cabs in London. They are also running a trial with DPD’s fleet of Nissan e-NV200 vans, at its all-electric delivery depots, Westminster and Hyde Park. 

The Tyre Problem 

What isn’t common knowledge is how tyres are one of the world's biggest contributors to pollution. 

According to a 2017 paper from the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), 28% of microplastics released into the ocean come from tyres. Tyres also account for around 50% of air particulate emissions from road transport. That’s vastly more than the pollution from your exhaust pipe.  

The increased tyre wear from EVs could potentially completely negate any reduction in pollution gained from electrification. This is why products like Enso TX1 are needed.  

Founder and CEO of Enso, Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, said:  

“The traditional tyre industry business model incentivises volume and indirectly creates huge levels of tyre pollution, and enormous tyre waste at their end-of-life. 

“As EV sales grow, this problem is also getting worse, given that EVs wear out tyres 20-50% faster, according to Michelin and Goodyear, due to their heavier weight and higher torque." 

If trials prove the TX1 to be as effective as they seem, they could be an answer to this problem. The subscription model would also help reduce wastage. 

 

Subscriptions gone mad 

Whilst the pay-by-the-mile model seems to be a cost saver for tyres, it seems to be part of the wider trend of turning everything into a subscription. 

BMW recently came under fire after announcing they were going to begin offering subscriptions for heated seats.  

Following intense criticism, BMW clarified that individuals who purchase a car with heated seats included in the package would not be charged any extra. The subscription would be offered to any person purchasing or leasing a lower-end model which doesn’t come with heated seats as standard. 

But to be able to offer these subscriptions, all BMWs will now have heated seats built-in as standard. So, despite their clarification, it seems incredibly cynical for BMW to install heated seats on all vehicles as standard but block their use behind a paywall.  

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