PSA Group to launch cross-brand Free2Move flexible rental solution

The PSA Group will add a Free2Move Rent offering to its cross-brand mobility division in a bid to take advantage of growing demand from customers for flexible rental.

Set to be made available to both business and retail customers later this year, the new short- and medium-term rental offering will be facilitated using vehicles provided through the Citroen, DS Automobiles, Peugeot and Vauxhall brands' franchised car retail networks.

Martin Gurney (pictured), Groupe PSA's director - fleet and used vehicles, said that vehicles may be outsourced by Free2Move Rent via a third party provider if a suitable vehicle is not available with a retailer in a certain area, however, in order to guarantee bookings.

Speaking to AM's sister title, Fleet News, Gurney said: “In the same way Free2Move Lease replaced Peugeot Contract Hire and Citroen Contract Motoring, Free2Move Rent replaces the Peugeot car and van rental programme but expands into a much wider – across all three brands’ dealer-based rental solution.”

He added that the concept had been “in planning for some time” and that a pilot phase had just started in the UK prior to the Covid-19 lockdown, delaying the official launch.

However, Gurney said that Free2Move Rent will roll out across all our automotive brand retailer networks progressively later this year.

“It will support them in diversifying their businesses to run their own rental operations, in line with the growing trend towards more flexible mobility,” he said.

Free2Move was initially launched in 2016 as part of a drive to unite all of the PSA Group's new mobility solutions to satisfy all consumers' transport needs.

Included in the original plan was:

Free2Move Car Sharing – car sharing services run by the group

Free2Move Smart Services – connected services to make life easier and save time

Free2Move Fleet Sharing and Free2Move Fleet Management – corporate fleet services

Free2Move Lease – financial solutions to make vehicles more affordable.

PSA introduced an elelctric vehicle (EV) car sharing initiative as part of Free2Move, in Paris, back in November 2019.

The Vauxhall brand officially adopted Free2Move Lease as its dealer network's new business contract hire funder in May last year.

Author: Sarah Tooze