Ford Sells Subscription Vehicle Business

Ford Motor Co. is selling its Canvas subscription vehicle platform to Fair, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based startup that also specializes in subscription services.

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Ford acquired Canvas in 2016.

The carmaker had been conducting pilot programs with Canvas for its Ford and Lincoln brands in Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Lease customers could swap out cars periodically for a single monthly fee that combined traditional payments, roadside assistance, insurance and maintenance.

Ford says about 3,800 people had Canvas memberships, which will be transferred to Fair. Last year, Lincoln indicated weak customer interest in the pricey program. But the carmaker says it still might work with dealers on similar initiatives in the future.

Launched in mid-2017 by former TrueCar CEO Scott Painter, Fair raised more than $385 million in a funding round led by Softbank Corp. late last year.

The company says it has 45,000 subscribers in more than 30 metropolitan markets across the country. Last year, it inked deals with Uber and Ally Financial to match drivers with vehicles and financing options.