Motorists across the Atlantic have begun sharing ownership of a car with family, friends or neighbours as part of a pilot scheme being explored by Ford.

Motor Credit Company has made Ford Credit Link available to Ford Credit customers in Austin, Texas, in an effort to appeal to consumers who don’t need a vehicle full time, but would like to have access to a vehicle.

Starting next month, Ford Credit is offering leases on Ford vehicles to self-organised groups of three to six people.

Lease groups can reserve drive time, check vehicle status, keep up with maintenance, communicate with each other, view their account, and make payments through a vehicle plug-in device and app.

David McClelland, Ford Credit executive vice president, marketing and sales, said: “People already are sharing everything – from books to homes, we’re seeing the potential for a shift from a single consumer paying for a single vehicle to several people sharing costs and benefits.

“Ford Credit Link makes Ford vehicles more readily available to people who may not want or need their own vehicle but have mobility requirements that must be met.”

Ford said that the pilot scheme supports its Ford Smart Mobility plan which is intended to take ‘the company to the next level in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics’.