Faced with declining sales, auto firms see room for growth via rent-a-car

But final cost of leasing may outrun cost of ownership

Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest carmaker, recently expanded the scope of its car subscription facility to new cities — Hyderabad and Pune — from five announced earlier.

The company is aiming to expand the business to around 60 cities in the next two-three years. It had rolled out its subscription plans on September 24 with the promise of offering the flexibility of driving without having to own the car. It had announced while this was available in select cities, it had planned to cover many more in the country.

“Over the next five years, we expect to garner nearly 3-4 per cent of