Netflix for cars? Nissan's 'on demand' service lets you chop and change your vehicle

2020 Nissan Rogue
(Image credit: Nissan)

Bored of driving the same old four-wheeler on your commute every morning and night? Nissan hears you – and is responding with a car subscription service that lets you change up what you're driving as much as every single day.

Called Nissan Switch, the service will cater to those wanting to shake up their driving routine, even if learning to handle a different car each day – with its own weight, interface, and general feel to get used to – sounds like something of a hassle.

Nissan describes its service as "on demand driving", making a clear parallel to the rise of all-you-can-eat content services like Netflix, Disney Plus, or Hulu, that let subscribers access a huge variety of films and TV shows for a regular monthly fee.

There are similar services offered by the likes of Audi and Mercedes-Benz, so it's clear that there's a market for this variety: if you're hoping to start switching your car up that often, though, you may be disappointed.

For the few, not the many

The pricing of Nissan Switch will put it out of reach of most motorists, starting at $699 a month (around £540 / AU$1,050) for the basic Select service (featuring Nissan's Altima, Rogue, Pathfinder, and Frontier models) and $899 a month (around £700 / AU$1,350) for the premium service (Leaf Plus, Maxima, Murano, Armada, Titan, and 370Z).

Nissan Switch is also only launching in Houston, Texas at first – and it's likely to be a difficult service to scale. But counted alongside Tesla's plans to convert its fleet of electric cars into taxis when not in use, and more people getting used to the idea of renting near-enough everything in their lives, it's clear that owning your own car is going to be more and more of a rarity in the coming years.

Via Pocket-Lint

Henry St Leger

Henry is a freelance technology journalist, and former News & Features Editor for TechRadar, where he specialized in home entertainment gadgets such as TVs, projectors, soundbars, and smart speakers. Other bylines include Edge, T3, iMore, GamesRadar, NBC News, Healthline, and The Times.