Flying Nimbus Subscription Services from Toyota/Lexus Launches In Japan

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Toyota Motor Corporation has established KINTO Co., Ltd.(1), a new company to manage and operate its car subscription service that proposes a new user-car relationship. The new company is jointly funded by Toyota Financial Services, Co., Ltd. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Toyota) and Sumitomo Mitsui Auto Service Company, Limited (a member of the Sumitomo Corporation Group).

As society shifts from conventional car ownership to car usage that can be enjoyed wherever and as much as users would like, there is a growing need for a service that allows customers to freely select the car that they like or want to drive and enjoy it as they like, instead of using a car simply as a means of transportation.

Plans t include insurance, taxes, and maintenance costs wherein the customer pays by the month. .Kinto One, the basic plan provides a Toyota-branded vehicle for $420 to $900 month. Vehicles availalbe are the Prius, Corolla Sport, Crown, Alphard, and Vellfire. The premium Kinto Select provides Lexus hybrid models (ES 300h, IS 300h, RC 300h, UX 250h, RX 450h, or NX 300h) at $1,630 a month for three years.

To make the service accessible, customers can easily apply online (https://kinto-jp.com/, Japanese-language only) or through Toyota/Lexus dealers nationwide(4), where a safe and secure service is offered.

KINTO SELECT will be offered from 6th of February 2019, and KINTO ONE from 1st of March 2019. Both services will be deployed on a trial basis through select Toyota dealers and Lexus dealers in the Tokyo metropolitan area4, with nationwide rollout scheduled from summer 2019. The number of vehicle models available as part of the service is slated for expansion from the beginning of autumn.

Toyota will continue to engage in initiatives such as KINTO to ensure that cars can continue to be the beloved cars of customers and to allow customers to enjoy a fulfilling life with their car.

(1) Name signifying a service that quickly appears when necessary, enabling mobility as per the user’s wishes like a kintoun (Japanese for “flying nimbus”)
(2) Monthly fixed-sum service
(3) Applicable only to KINTO ONE
(4) KINTO ONE services will be available from Toyota dealers within Tokyo except for TOYOTA NISHITOKYO COROLLA, Netz Toyota Tama, and Netz TOYOTA TOTO dealers. KINTO SELECT services will be available at Lexus dealers within Tokyo except for Lexus Tama, Lexus Higashiyamato, Lexus Nerima, Lexus Koishikawa, and Lexus CPO dealers