Car Sharing Pricing & Rates
Car sharing uses a different pricing model than scooters and e-bikes. Instead of per-minute rates, car rentals are priced by the hour, day, week, or month. This guide explains how to set up pricing, manage deposits, and understand the platform fee structure.
How Car Pricing Differs from Micromobility
| Feature | Scooters & E-Bikes | Car Sharing |
|---|---|---|
| Rate structure | Per-minute with unlock fee | Hourly, daily, weekly, monthly |
| Mileage | Unlimited | Included allowance + overage charge |
| Fuel/charging | Managed by operator | Surcharge if returned low |
| Deposits | Optional (usually none) | Common ($100–$500) |
| Insurance | Not typically required | Often required |
Setting Up Rates
Pricing tiers are configured per vehicle type (or vehicle model). This lets you charge different rates for different classes of vehicles.
Rate Fields
| Rate | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly Rate | Charge per hour for short rentals | $15/hr |
| Daily Rate | Charge per day (24-hour period) | $50/day |
| Weekly Rate | Charge per week (7 days) | $300/week |
| Monthly Rate | Charge per month (30 days) | $1,000/month |
Discount Incentives
Longer durations should offer better per-day value. For example, if your daily rate is $50 ($350/week equivalent), set the weekly rate to $300 — a 14% discount that encourages longer bookings and improves vehicle utilization.
How Rates Are Applied
The system automatically selects the most favorable rate for the customer based on the rental duration:
- Under 24 hours: Hourly rate, capped at the daily rate
- 1–6 days: Daily rate
- 7–29 days: Weekly rate (pro-rated for partial weeks)
- 30+ days: Monthly rate (pro-rated for partial months)
Security Deposits
Security deposits are refundable holds placed on the customer's payment method at the time of booking or check-in.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Default Deposit | The standard deposit for reservations (default: $250) |
| Per-Tier Deposit | Override the default deposit for specific vehicle types |
Deposits are:
- Authorized (not captured) when the reservation is confirmed
- Captured if the customer fails to return the vehicle or damage occurs
- Released automatically after a successful check-out with no issues
Authorization Holds
Deposit authorizations typically expire after 7 days with most payment processors. For longer rentals, the deposit may be re-authorized periodically.
Late Return Fees
If a customer returns a vehicle after the scheduled return time, late fees apply:
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Late Return Fee | $15.00/hour | Charged per hour past the scheduled return time |
Late fees are calculated automatically and added to the final billing summary during check-out.
Mileage Pricing
Each pricing tier includes a mileage allowance and overage rate:
| Setting | Example | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Included KM per Day | 160 km | Free mileage included in the daily rate |
| Overage per KM | $0.40 | Charge per kilometer over the daily allowance |
Mileage is tracked via Smartcar odometer readings at check-in and check-out. See Fuel & Mileage Surcharges for detailed calculation examples.
Connected and Managed Plans
Choose the operating model that fits your team. Neither plan has a setup fee or a fleet-size minimum.
| Plan | Levy fee | Operating responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Connected | USD 14 per vehicle per month | Your team handles resident support, payment operations, refunds and disputes. Third-party services are separate. |
| Managed | 8% of gross car-sharing booking revenue | Levy handles the operating services, with the underlying third-party charges included in the 8%. |
Connected includes the operator dashboard, reservations and pricing, digital agreements, connected vehicle access, Guestpass, vehicle telemetry, damage tools, payment workflows and reporting.
Managed includes everything in Connected plus:
- Payment processing and payment operations
- Identity and driver-license verification
- SMS and OTP messaging
- Connected-vehicle services
- Resident support
- Refunds, disputes and chargeback handling
These services and their third-party charges are included within Managed's 8%, rather than added as separate provider charges.
Gross car-sharing booking revenue means rental charges tied to a booking before costs; taxes and amounts refunded or charged back are excluded. Managed has no fixed monthly platform fee or per-vehicle software fee. No booking revenue means no Managed platform charge.
Published fixed prices are in USD. Canadian programs can be quoted and billed in CAD; the actual CAD amounts belong in the proposal and agreement. An executed customer agreement governs its final terms. Custom branded-app work, hardware and custom integrations are quoted separately when applicable.
Third-Party Services on Connected
Third-party usage costs are separate on the fixed Connected plan. Use supported services through Levy at their actual provider cost without a Levy markup, or connect compatible provider accounts you control and pay the providers directly.
Separate Connected costs can include payment processing, verification, SMS/OTP, connected-vehicle APIs, maps and other metered services. Actual provider cost includes applicable provider taxes, surcharges, network or dispute fees and currency conversion. Availability and prices vary by market and service.
This separate-cost treatment does not apply to the services included in the 8% Managed plan.
Supported Vehicles
Use Levy's vehicle compatibility catalog to filter by country, brand, model year, powertrain and remote access, inspect listed capabilities and download the full vehicle list. Exact compatibility depends on trim, firmware, active subscriptions and authorization of the owner's account.
Vehicle Models and Classes
For operators with diverse fleets, vehicles can be organized into vehicle classes (e.g., Economy, Comfort, SUV, Luxury). Each class can have:
- Its own pricing tier
- A display name and icon
- A sort order in the customer-facing vehicle browser
Vehicle classes also integrate with Car-as-a-Service subscription plans, where each plan covers a specific vehicle class.
Pricing Examples
Economy Sedan
| Rate | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hourly | $12/hr |
| Daily | $45/day |
| Weekly | $270/week |
| Monthly | $900/month |
| Included mileage | 160 km/day |
| Mileage overage | $0.35/km |
| Deposit | $200 |
SUV / Crossover
| Rate | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hourly | $20/hr |
| Daily | $75/day |
| Weekly | $450/week |
| Monthly | $1,500/month |
| Included mileage | 160 km/day |
| Mileage overage | $0.50/km |
| Deposit | $350 |
Luxury / Premium
| Rate | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hourly | $35/hr |
| Daily | $125/day |
| Weekly | $750/week |
| Monthly | $2,500/month |
| Included mileage | 200 km/day |
| Mileage overage | $0.75/km |
| Deposit | $500 |
Need Help?
For guidance on pricing strategy or help configuring rates for your fleet, contact us at support@levyelectric.com.
Running a fleet on this hardware?
Levy Fleets runs scooters, e-bikes, mopeds and golf carts on the IoT hardware you already have, with integration pages for 29 vendors including Segway, Okai, Omni, Queclink, Invers and Comodule. Keyless unlock, geofencing, rider payments and rider support are included, and the Managed plan is a share of revenue with no per-vehicle software fee.