UK’s EV Subscription Service Onto Raises $175M To Fuel Growth

Electric vehicle (EV) subscription service Onto has raised $175 million in an equity and debt Series B funding round that will be used expand its offering across the U.K. — with eyes on growing the company into other areas in the future, according to a company blog post.

Onto offers subscribers free charging, insurance, servicing, breakdown coverage and up to 1,000 miles worth of charging per month from more than 11,000 BP Pulse, Shell Recharge, InstaVolt and Tesla Supercharger stations, the post stated.

The highest monthly fee is 1,299 pounds (about $1,820), which is for its highest-priced vehicles, according to the Onto website.

Onto’s Series B fundraising brings the company’s total money raised to $245 million, according to the post.

“While two out of three U.K. drivers want their next car to be electric, the transition can be expensive and daunting,” said Onto CEO Rob Jolly in the post. “… This funding will allow us to further expand our operations in the U.K. and help more customers step into the world of EVs without being tied into long contracts or faced with large upfront costs.”

Onto for Business, launched last year, provides companies with EV subscriptions for their employees and tax savings for both the company and the employee driver. More than 300 businesses have subscribed to that service, according to the post.

In 2018, both Audi and BMW announced subscription programs that would allow consumers to pay a monthly fee to upgrade their automobiles to the latest model (whenever they wanted in BMW’s case), but both companies ended the programs earlier this year, PYMNTS reported.

In March, Volvo revealed its plans to release a lineup of electric cars, including its second battery-only model, the C40 Recharge. At the time, Volvo aimed to be a fully electric car company by 2030 with all EVs sold online only, meaning that its dealership days would be coming to an end.

Porsche also announced that it added its EVs to its subscription lineup. The all-electric Taycan sports car is available to subscribers of the Porsche Drive service for $2,500 a month. The model retails for around $103,800.