How Car Subscriptions Could Replace Traditional Ownership

Car subscriptions like Toyota KINTO, FINN, and Porsche Drive reshape mobility. Explore how Battery-as-a-Service and flexible access may redefine car ownership by 2035.

The car is turning into a service. Within the next decade, the idea of ownership may give way to flexibility — and the garage might be replaced by an app on your phone. Car subscriptions, once a niche experiment, are now forming a new ecosystem of mobility.

In 2025, the car subscription market is no longer a rarity. Services like Toyota KINTO, FINN, and Porsche Drive offer monthly access with insurance, maintenance, and taxes included. Some programs even appear in corporate benefit packages. FINN secured over €1 billion in financing this year to expand its European fleet, while Stellantis’s Free2Move reports six million customers.

Not every brand succeeded. Volvo suspended its Care by Volvo program, realizing that many drivers are still attached to traditional ownership. Another turning point came from BMW, which permanently dropped its heated-seat subscription after strong public backlash.

Meanwhile, electric carmakers such as NIO are pioneering a different model — Battery-as-a-Service. Customers don’t buy the battery; they pay for usage and can swap it at expanding networks of stations. In its October 2025 report, EY highlighted these models as key to making EVs more affordable and speeding up the clean-energy transition.

Consumer sentiment is also shifting. According to the Deloitte Global Automotive Consumer Study 2025, interest in hybrids is rising, and more people see cars as a service rather than property. In cities tightening parking and taxation, “not owning” becomes a rational economic choice.

The coming decade may not end private ownership but reshape it. Some will pay for flexibility, others for certainty. Between those poles, new hybrids will emerge — from full-vehicle subscriptions to paid software features. How convincingly the industry explains the value of such choices will determine whether the “subscribe” button becomes the icon of a new driving era.