Car-sharing platform Drivy has launched a new hourly pricing option after being rebranded as Getaround.

The rebrand of the service, which operates in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Austria and Belgium, follows the $300 million (£232m) acquisition of the company by US firm Getaround.

The company says that with the introduction of hourly pricing, its platform will allow users to access shared vehicles by the hour or day as it continues on its “mission to become the leading alternative to car ownership”.

The rebrand also includes an update to the service that will allow users to book cars by the hour, as well as by the day.

Its prices will now be calculated by the hour, with the cost of the rental decreasing proportionally for every additional hour of rental.

Getaround estimated the addition of hourly rental will help optimise occupancy rates of cars, especially during weekdays, with an expected increase in revenues estimated at 30%.

The service can be accessed through a smartphone app, which allows the user to search, select, book and unlock a car in a few minutes.

A Getaround spokesman said: “We believe we can become a convenient and viable alternative to car ownership and play a part in helping major cities like London in their fight against the pollution and congestion caused by idle cars.

“To fuel its expansion across Europe, Getaround will now focus its efforts on becoming a leading provider in terms of price and convenience at all trip lengths.

“The company will work towards growing its fleet towards the challenging 10,000 connected car milestone in 2020 and to pursue its geographic expansion by launching in two new European countries within the next year.”

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