Uber selling off auto-leasing business

After confirming the closure of its auto-leasing business, Xchange Leasing, Uber is now reportedly selling it, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The buyer? Car ownership startup Fair.com.

Uber announced in September that it would be shutting down Xchange Leasing, its Delaware-based subsidiary which partners with auto dealerships to offer vehicle leases to U.S. Uber drivers.

The leasing business currently sports a net book value of $400 million made up of over 30,000 vehicles, according to WSJ, but has suffered heavy losses — Uber was reportedly losing $9,000 per car in August. Many of these cars owned by Xchange Leasing have been auctioned off over the last few months.

WSJ reported on Tuesday that Fair.com had agreed to buy the business, according to “people familiar with the matter.” Founded by former TrueCar CEO Scott Painter, and car industry veterans Georg Bauer (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla) and Fedor Artiles (Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler, Volkswagen, Tesla) the flexible car ownership platform lets you lease a vehicle for as long as you like. The cars will always be under six years old and 70,000 miles when you get them.

As of Oct. 2017, Fair.com had managed to score up to $1 billion in debt and equity funding from BMW’s iVentures, Penske Automotive Group, and Mercedes Benz, among other investors.