Peer-to-peer car sharing service Getaround recently unveiled the Getaround Carkit™—the first all-in-one device for enabling car owners to safely and easily share their cars and potentially generate thousands of dollars per year in rental income.

Getaround enables car owners to “un-idle” their cars and offset the cost of vehicle ownership by sharing with friends, co-workers, and neighbors, while people seeking cars are provided easy, affordable access to vehicles everywhere.  The Getaround Carkit combines GPS, Wi-Fi, and keyless remote technology to allow safe and simple sharing of cars, and is the first device designed exclusively for peer-to-peer car sharing. On average, car owners can earn $2,000 per year for renting their cars.

How threatened are rental car agencies? We shall soon find out. Since this rental model is based on hourly rentals, its main competitor is zipcar. Stay tuned as the peer to peer car rental concept is rolled out across the US.

I wonder when someone will apply this same concept to the rent to own car industry. I think it could work. Peer to peer rent to own cars, now there’s an idea. =)