Making Car Ownership Flexible

In conversation with BW Businessworld, Tarun Lawadia, Founder & CEO, PumPumPum talks about journey of his company and new-age cars:

How would you describe your journey at PumPumPum, especially in light of the changes in the auto sector? 

PumPumPum has been an exciting journey for us. At PumPum Pum, our motto or mission is to address car ownership related issues. While there has been much action and innovation in the used car ecosystem, there still exists a wide gap toward hassle-free car ownership. We saw that as an opportunity and are working to provide consumers with the experience of subscribing to a used car rather than dealing with the hassles and limitations of the traditional model. While we are currently working to achieve and reach the masses, we have received positive responses from both the retail and corporate markets.

How are you seeing consumer behaviour change in this? 

The new-age car owner is now increasingly younger, changing cars more frequently and avoiding public transportation for safety concerns. Due to this, new car ownership channels such as car leasing and subscription are gaining traction. Our mission is to take away the time-consuming process of purchasing a used car and make it more flexible, economical and reliable for consumers while removing all risks. 

How are you making the new model work? 

We are solving several market challenges. In the current traditional lease model, the lease is only limited to new cars. And because of operational and legal liabilities on the company’s end, they have always restricted these policies to the top 5-10 per cent of management. Also, the lease is contingent on continued employment with the existing lessee. When you decide to move on, the only option is to go through a foreclosure, which comes with significant penalties.

For a brand new car, it becomes expensive as a three-year average tenure doesn’t make sense. These leases are usually three, four or five years long. And the consumer today is technically not so enthusiastic about a company that he knows he would be employed there for the next five years. 

Our lease policy has no operational and legal hassles on the companies’ part which is giving them the comfort to open our lease programme technically for all employees. Second, because these are used cars, our tenures are shorter, ranging from six to 24 months, during which time a person’s employment with the company is generally visible.