DriveItAway is now integrated with Uber for Business, and the company said that means dealers can use the DriveItAway dashboard to arrange rides for anyone.

DriveItAway is now integrated with Uber Central. That means dealerships can book Uber rides directly through the DriveItAway administration dashboard with a fully integrated lookup. On behalf of customers they can specify pick up and drop off locations.

The customer is not required to have the Uber app on his or her cell phone. The customer receives a text message with a secure link for a ride based on his or her pickup and drop off locations.

DriveItAway offered the integration to complement the DriveItAway platform and consumer app. The company says the integration helps dealers more quickly offer rides for customers who do not have a vehicle, but need one.

The integration also helps facilitate a “touchless” purchase, rental, or DriveItAway’s rental with an option to buy, “pay as you go” program.

The DriveItAway/Uber Central integration is fully compliant with the prevalent rule for online, remote-only sales restrictions required in many states under the current coronavirus rules.

A car dealership’s door-to-door delivery coordinators and drivers can also use the integration.

Also with the integration, communication can take place between the dealership delivery manager, the driver, and the customer. Real-time ETAs also help the dealership stay engaged with its customers at each step along the way. The application tracks all rides and any relevant details.

The company said the integration is also timely for service operations. The Uber Central integration can eliminate the need for costly shuttles. With restrictions on the number of passengers that can be transported at one time, those shuttles are currently even more expensive to operate. The integration can lessen the need for a large loaner fleet of vehicles.

Using the integrated Uber rides tool helps lower expenses and create new customer-focused convenience for sales and fixed operations, when things start returning to normal.

“Particularly now in the midst of this terrible coronavirus pandemic, I think dealers need solid long term strategies to move forward, practices and procedures that not only aid in these times of crisis, but help build momentum in the long run to jumpstart business and run more efficiently once the dust settles and things start back to normal,” DriveItAway.com founder and chief executive officer John Possumato said in a news release.

Possumato said DriveItAway was created to supply the technology platform so dealers could enter “the emerging world of new mobility options,” while increasing sales with its app-based rent-to-purchase technology. The company initially focused on the rideshare rental and broader subprime market, those who lack a down payment or credit to buy immediately.

Possumato said, “In this COVID-19 environment now, however, we have found it is a perfect solution for every potential customer that has health or financial concerns, as the ‘no financial commitment’ rental transaction is all in-app and truly ‘touchless.’ And with the help of Uber For Business, it now can be done with one delivery coordinator. It gives the ‘deferred buyer’ a needed vehicle, but with an option, not the obligation, to buy, with a portion of rental payments accruing equity towards the purchase price.”

He also said the integration helps consumers who are concerned about spending a great deal of cash or getting into a long-term financial commitment such as a car loan or lease during these uncertain times. The integration also provides a strategy for car dealers to conduct positive customer engagement.

The integration, he said, “creates needed revenue with their used cars, and builds a pipeline of future sales to bounce back more quickly and build market share when things begin to return to normal.”

Coordinating shuttles or providing loaner cars for customers in sales or fixed operations can be inefficient, time consuming, and expensive for car dealers, even in the best of times, said Jim Bauman, automotive partnerships lead at Uber for Business.

“In the current environment, and building for the future, we are happy to offer a seamless solution to dealers with DriveItAway, that can reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction in both service and sales operations,” Bauman said.

Bauman continued, “We are excited to partner with companies like DriveItAway, offering innovative, customer focused solutions for automotive retailers, that not only help to satisfy the immediate situation, but usher in new strategies and processes now that will increase sales, profits and customer engagement for the long term. Our industry is changing, adapting, and finding new solutions to new and old problems alike. There are great opportunities for those who take this time to refine and develop a plan for the future.”

DriveItAway has also provided a brief video of Bauman and Possumato introducing the new partnership.