At the very same time the Audi-owned SilverCar rental company has timed a massive expansion, Audi on Demand in San Francisco has confirmed that it will cease operations. Audi announced the move this morning in an email to the division’s customers.
It reads:
Effective Friday, October 12 2018, the Audi premium mobility service, Audi on demand, will no longer be available in San Francisco. Please note that your Membership Agreement has changed to provide that the agreement has been terminated effective as of midnight Pacific time on October 12, 2018.
New and existing reservations with a return date on or before October 12 will be honored with the same premium delivery service you’ve come to expect. We thank you for joining us on this incredible journey, and we are excited to share what’s next.
On Monday, September 24, Silvercar by Audi launched its 25th US location in the heart of downtown San Francisco. As an Audi enthusiast, you may already be aware of Audi’s prior acquisition of Silvercar, a premium car rental service that provides seamless access to Audi A4s, Q5s, and A5 Cabriolets at airports and in cities nationwide. With Silvercar, you can expect no lines, no paperwork, and always an Audi with free premium features.
We invite you to join us by registering at www.silvercar.com and exploring the 25 convenient locations around the US.
Internationally, the Audi on demand service continues to expand across Europe and Asia. Visit the global Audi on demand website to learn more.
We look forward to continuing our journey together, into the future of mobility.
Your Audi on demand US Team
Worth noting, Audi on demand does operate in other markets outside of the USA, but its pilot program in San Francisco largely represented its sole American footprint. Other on-demand or shared usage models have been experimented with by Audi, both in the USA and other markets, but this was the only app-based service with premium delivery service by an Audi on demand representative and access to virtually Audi’s entire fleet of models.
Audi did not give a reason for the closure, but given the move to expand SilverCar to even more markets and their own more recent additions of A5 Cabriolet and Q5 models suggests that SilverCar as a business has proved itself to be more profitable than the Audi on demand model was in San Francisco.
More information on these Audi divisions can be found at US.udiOnDemand.com and SilverCar.com.
