EAST COAST Car Rentals has launched its new ‘Spin to Win’ campaign, offering all customers the chance to win a range of prizes, from Flight Centre vouchers to an MG3 car. 

The holiday season is a busy time for vehicle hire, so with demand at its peak across East Coast Car Rentals 15 branches, the Spin to Win campaign aims to add excitement for customers who book directly. It could turn their vehicle rentals into a potentially memorable experience with instant prizes and the chance to win a grand prize. 

“The goal of the Spin to Win campaign is to add excitement and rewards to the rental experience, while building stronger connections with customers,” East Coast Car Rentals chief marketing officer, Ben Whitmore said. 

“We wanted to offer something fun for Aussies over the coming months as a way to thank renters for choosing East Coast Car Rentals. 

“By booking directly with us, customers are automatically in the running for great prizes, from fuel vouchers for their next trip to the grand prize. There’s over a thousand prizes to be won so we hope we can put a smile on a lot of our customer’s faces this summer.”

The Spin to Win campaign is East Coast Car Rentals’ way of rewarding customer loyalty and enhancing the rental experience into 2025. By turning road trips into exciting opportunities, East Coast is hoping that the campaign will drive awareness and engagement over the busy summer period and establish a greater connection with customers.

Once customers return their vehicle, they will receive an email with an invitation to play the digital game immediately. Additionally, QR codes displayed at the branch counters provide easy access to the promotion details and instructions, making it simple for every customer to get involved. 

Each spin provides the opportunity to win instant prizes, including Visa gift cards, Flight Centre vouchers, fuel cards, car rental vouchers – and for those who don’t win one of these prizes, they will be entered into a second-chance draw for the grand prize choice of an MG3 vehicle or $10,000 in cash.

The campaign runs until February 28, 2025, across all 15 East Coast branches and wraps up with the major prize draw on March 10, 2025, at the Gold Coast branch. 

The draw, featuring the winner’s choice of the MG3 car or $10,000 in cash, will be recorded and shared on social media, with all other prizes being delivered digitally for easy

redemption. 

www.eastcoastcarrentals.com.au

Full list of prizes

• Major prize: One major prize winner will be chosen from all participants across 15 branches on March 10, 2025. The winner has the option to choose between an MG3 vehicle or A$10,000 cash.
• Minor prizes: Includes digital rewards such as Visa gift cards, Flight Centre vouchers, fuel vouchers, and ‘their next rental on us’ (up to $500).

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AUSTRALIA’s peak body for novated leasing is urging Australians to act quickly on purchasing a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) before the fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemption deadline of April 1 approaches.

Waiting times for some qualifying model vehicles are at risk of pushing them outside the timeframe.

According to the National Automotive Leasing and Salary Packaging Association (NALSPA), eligible workers who salary sacrifice are exempt from paying FBT on PHEVs until April 1, 2025, although the exemption will remain for battery electric vehicles (BEVs). 

NALSPA CEO Rohan Martin said some PHEV models and variants through novated leasing were being snapped up quickly.

“If you want to save on the cost of owning and operating a plug-in hybrid, you better get in quick before the FBT exemption expires in April next year,” Mr Martin said.
“Now’s the time to seriously consider and enquire about getting into a PHEV which for many motorists means being able to drive on electricity for the bulk of the time, with the comfort of a petrol engine for those longer trips.

“The FBT exemption offers significant savings for your household by paying no FBT and reducing your taxable income through a novated lease arrangement. This saving could be as much as $20,000 or more for an employee over the term of a typical PHEV lease.

“While there is still plenty of stock available for some PHEV models and variants, demand for others is high and wait times are unfortunately extending to or beyond the April cut off.

“We also think that demand and delivery times are only set to continue to rise in the coming weeks – so the message is don’t wait, speak with your novated lease provider or local car dealer. To qualify for the exemption, our advice is that a financial commitment must be in place and that your PHEV must be available for your use, and therefore delivered to you, before April 1, 2025.
“With the help of the FBT exemption, Australians are loving plug-in hybrids with new sales more than doubling over the past year (up 100.4% to November 2024). PHEVs are a crucial stepping stone toward full electric driving,” he said.

“Compared with pure EVs, PHEVs meet the needs of a growing number of Australians by alleviating range anxiety and are projected to offer a greater range of electrified larger vehicle types like utes and dual cabs in the near future. Most PHEV drivers predominantly use electric power only and recharge at least twice a week.

“NALSPA has strongly advocated for the FBT exemption to remain in place for eligible PHEVs to help lower motoring related costs for everyday Australians during a cost-of-living crisis and get Australia closer to meeting its climate targets,” Mr Martin said.
“The decision to end the FBT exemption for PHEVs couldn’t come at a worse time, especially as a range of hard-to-fully-electrify utes are just entering the market. The FBT exemption is playing a critical role in encouraging more everyday Australians, particularly those in regional areas, to make the switch to an electrified vehicle, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if demand for plug-in hybrid falls after April next year.”

NALSPA’s list of popular PHEVs via novated leasing include:

• Alfa Romeo Tonale
• BYD Sealion 6
• BYD Shark
• Cupra Leon VZe
• Cupra Formentor VZe
• Kia Sorento PHEV
• Mazda CX-60
• MG HS
• Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
• Mitsubishi Outlander
• Volvo XC60

www.nalspa.org.au

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By Leon Gettler, Talking Business >>

IMAGINE a car subscription that would make subscribing to an electric vehicle (EV) like subscribing to a mobile phone or Netflix? It’s nothing like leasing, which is, in financial effect, close to buying a car.

That’s the promise of ASX listed car subscription company Carly, operating on the eastern seaboard, covering Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. However, Carly Car Subscription is also online, which means people can access the cars from anywhere.

Carly was bolstered recently by the ruling of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) – which has applied since August 26, 2020 – allows subscribers to claim the car subscription payments as a tax deduction when the subscription is used for business or work purposes.

Also, businesses that use Carly can claim the full dollar amount of the subscription fee as a deduction if the cars are used in carrying out business and/or provided to employees for their use. Fringe benefits tax (FBT) is payable in respect of the portion of private usage by the employee.

The ATO ruling is being used by Carly to innovate. 

Carly chief executive officer Chris Noone said the ATO ruling meant that people who are not using Carly can get a novated subscription using Carly. The ruling is connected the relationship between Carly and its subscribers. It can also be used as part of a salary package.

“Anyone who signs a novation agreement under this ruling, who takes out a subscription with Carly, will be able to get the FBT exemption on electric vehicles,” Mr Noone told Talking Business.

“What that means in essence is that they can save between 35% and 50% on the cost of a normal subscription for an EV.”

Mr Noone said the product had been launched because car owners were cautious about transitioning to EVs.

“Subscription is a flexible way of getting access to a car,” he said. “A normal car subscription is minimum one month and the salary package that we have is a minimum of three months. That’s a stipulation of the ATO.

“It allows drivers to try an EV for three months or more, get access to the FBT exemption and not have that long term risk of potentially buying a car that wasn’t suitable for their needs.”

This, Mr Noone said, was different to a car lease which was typically two to four years long and came with significant break costs for those who wanted to terminate it in the middle of the lease period.

“Under a lease, essentially what’s happening is the car is being bought on your behalf and you’re entering into a finance agreement for that,” he said.

“With subscription, it’s a more flexible product. Our subscriptions are normally minimum 30 days and 30 days notice to return the car. So you could have a car for six or seven months of the year, or you could take it on for one month and have a one month recurring subscription.

“When people feel they want to change the car or they no longer need the car because their work circumstances have changed, let’s say they have gone overseas, or they are taking the bus to work, they can give it back.

“It can just be a monthly recurring subscription, like your mobile phone, like your Netflix, and you just give 30 days notice to hand the car back,” Mr Noone said. 

www.carly.co

www.leongettler.com

Hear the complete interview and catch up with other topical business news on Leon Gettler’s Talking Business podcast, released every Friday at www.acast.com/talkingbusiness

https://shows.acast.com/talkingbusiness/episodes/talking-business-36-nathan-cheong-from-melrose-health-group

TESLA’s novel and innovative approach to sales, marketing and loyalty with owners and potential owners has disrupted the automotive industry globally – and virtually – almost from day one.

Ben Whitmore, the chief marketing officer at automotive ‘subscription’ innovator, Brisbane-based eCar Subscription, sees Tesla’s latest leanings into the subscription models – many pioneered by the US tech. sector – driving other auto manufacturers to follow the lead.

“Tesla and BMW’s shift into subscription-based models represents a significant transformation in the automotive industry, as it fundamentally alters the traditional vehicle ownership experience,” Mr Whitmore said. 

“We believe that this trend will likely lead to broader adoption with manufacturers, as it allows them to create ongoing revenue streams, while offering their consumers access to advanced features and services without all the hefty upfront costs.

“However, this approach could create further barriers for Australian consumers, potentially obstructing the adoption of EVs at a time when the market is already facing challenges.

“By pushing for subscriptions, manufacturers risk alienating potential buyers who might feel that they are not getting the full value of their investment, which could cause complications around EV adoption.”

EV resale values in question

Mr Whitmore warned this approach could affect the sell-on value of EVs, “which is already a major barrier for Australian consumers”.

“The shift towards subscription-based models for more advanced features in EVs could significantly impact the resale value of these vehicles,” Mr Whitmore said. “As manufacturers move towards limiting core functionalities to subscription fees, consumers may feel uneasy about purchasing a car that may not retain its full value over time.”

Mr Whitmore said the uncertainty of this market could “easily put off any potential buyers, as they’ll be less inclined to invest in a vehicle that could experience ongoing costs beyond the initial purchase price”.

“This hesitancy can be linked to new Australian data that shows used EVs have below-average resale values and spend longer on the market. This decline in value, particularly when compared with the broader market, raises concerns about EVs as investments, complicating Australia’s transition to EVs.

“Combined with existing worries over resale value, this could hinder broader adoption.”

Broad impact on auto sector

Mr Whitmore said the wider automotive industry will be impacted in many ways, ranging from car subscription services to rideshare and beyond.

“The shift towards subscription-based models in the automotive industry, particularly with manufacturers like Tesla and BMW, could significantly reshape consumer expectations and purchasing behaviours,” he said.

“As basic functionalities become locked behind ‘paywalls’, consumers may feel disillusioned with the initial cost of electric vehicles (EVs), leading to a decline in overall demand.

“This trend could create a ripple effect across the industry, pushing more manufacturers to shift away from traditional ownership. As consumers face rising living costs, they want more flexibility and are increasingly reluctant to commit to long-term financial plans, particularly when vehicle ownership brings risks like depreciation, maintenance, and fluctuating resale value—especially for electric vehicles (EVs).

“In this environment, purchasing a vehicle outright is losing its appeal, making subscription models a more attractive alternative.”

Challenges for rideshare companies

But this shift could also create challenges for rideshare companies, which are often early adopters of EV technology. 

“As the cost of EV subscriptions rises, these companies may pass those expenses on to consumers, leading to higher ride prices and potentially stalling the adoption of EVs in rideshare fleets, where their environmental impact could be significant,” Mr Whitmore said.

“For Australian consumers already cautious about the financial burden of EVs, rising subscription fees could worsen adoption barriers.”

Ben Whitmore is the CMO for both eCar Subscription and owner East Coast Car Rentals, developing flexible and tailored plans to suit individual and business automotive needs.

www.ecarsubscription.com.au

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