Getaround, a company that helps vehicle owners rent their cars, trucks and SUVs to other peers, closes US businesses a year after cutting 30% of North America’s workforce as part of restructuring. Hyrecar, which it acquired in 2023 for $ 9.45 million, also closes.
The company said on a Wednesday regulatory deposit As well as an email sent to our customers, it is now focusing on its European business, where it operates in six countries such as Norway, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium and Austria.
The email, which has seen TechCrunch, urged customers to return car rentals by the end of Wednesday to avoid any coverage gaps and stated that “it is in danger of no longer being able to provide US liability insurance”
“If you do not, you may be personally responsible to ensure that it has the required civil liability insurance coverage,” the email said. Getaround said the car protection program would no longer apply to any vehicle that will not be returned by the end of the day, which means that customers will be responsible for any compensation.
Getaround, founded in 2009 in San Francisco and was a finalist Battlefield Techcrunch in 2011, had a history of adventure.
The company was a Darling VC, increasing more than $ 750 million from high profile investors, including $ 300 million in a 2018 round led by Softbank Vision Fund. Other investors have included menlo ventures, Peoplefund, Reid Hoffman and Mark Pincus’ Reinvent Capital and Vectoiq Partners Steve Girsky, Mary Chan and Julia Steyn – to mention some.
Getaround used this money to expand to other cities and finally to Europe with the acquisition of $ 300 million from Drivy and Norweigan car rental company in 2019.
The company was released in 2022 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, but soon ran into problems. Within months of the transition, it received a warning alert from the New York Stock Exchange. It also passed redundancies in 2023 and 2024.
‘Tidy’
The Board of Directors approved on 7 February a “smooth comfort” of the car exchange operation in the United States, which includes the performance of all US employees, according to a regulatory report published on Wednesday. The majority of these employees will end their employment on February 14, with few remaining to help close the business.
Getaround estimates that it will be burdened between $ 1.5 million to $ 2 million in relation to power reduction.
This smooth wind may seem chaotic to any customer who had existing or scheduled rented. In an email to customers, Getaround said it would support rentals (including insurance coverage) by the end of Wednesday, leaving customers with a little time to return vehicles. The company has also canceled any future US rentals.
“We work closely with the hosts and drivers to return the vehicles as soon as possible,” the email said. “Any excellent claims or balances will be dealt with through the process with the wind.”
Temporary CEO and Coo Aj Lee, who will resign from the post, said in a statement that “it was an incredibly difficult decision, which was not slightly made after careful examination of various strategic choices”.
Lee added that “despite significant improvements in overall profitability and extensive restructuring efforts, the company faced an ongoing lack of liquidity that made our businesses no longer viable”.
