Hertz operates a Public Carriage Office (PCO), a weekly rental business for Private Hire Vehicle (PHV) drivers in London. This allows drivers to rent a fully licensed vehicle for rideshare apps like Uber and Bolt, offering a flexible and cost-effective alternative to owning a vehicle outright.
For this market, Hertz looked to create an outlet that could showcase their available inventory online.
“We wanted a one-stop showroom to showcase vehicles to the PCO market— particularly Uber drivers,” said Mike Mitcham, Business Partner, at Hertz. “Typically, this would be difficult to achieve without building a physical showroom with all the associated costs.”
Hertz’s Online Showroom
To achieve this without the physical showroom cost, they teamed with Zuant 3D, a leading provider of tools that enable businesses to capture, manage, and analyze customer data in real-time, enhancing marketing communications and sales performance. The goal was to present a virtual showroom showcasing all of the vehicles with touchpoints for such items as luggage capacity and mileage range.
The online showroom was accomplished by using Matterport’s 3D photography to create an immersive virtual experience which seamlessly integrates with CRM systems and call center agents. A digital scan is used to create a virtual showroom, opening up sales channels to drivers 24/7.
“Zuant 3D has given us access to all of our fleet on a desktop, wherever we are— like a showroom in our pocket!” said Mitcham.
Lead Conversions Rise
A key feature for Hertz was the live interaction that allowed for an instant connection.
“When a driver comes in to the virtual showroom, there’s an alert that goes through to a team at the call centre partner Konecta,” said Mitcham. “Their Call Centre agents can interact with the driver using the live video feature, answer any questions they may have and help with the sale of the vehicle, whether that be a rental or rent to buy.”
The virtual showroom went live in November 2024 and now has ten vehicles available for drivers to view, with another three due for upload shortly. The best-seller currently is the VW ID7— a model particularly popular with Uber drivers as it has Uber Executive status which means drivers earn more per ride compared to other vehicles.
Most importantly, the virtual showroom lead conversions accelerate by 30%.
Partnership with Zuant 3D
Pete Gillett, CEO at Zuant 3D, said they worked closely with Hertz to develop a system to suit their requirements and continue to support them to maximize their sales.
“When Hertz brings a new vehicle on board, we take a 3D scan of the demo vehicle and combine this with its USPs to upload to the showroom,” said Gillett. “This means the vehicle can be ready to sell before the stock even lands in the UK.”
“Hertz is leading the way in the PCO market by applying Zuant 3D’s groundbreaking technology to find a cost-effective way to reach and convert leads.”
