We’ve been contacted by a number of customers recently with regards to elmo and their lack of availability. We have reached out to our contact at elmo for an update with regards to their operations, in the meantime we will use this article to speculate what the issue may be.
We will also ask readers questions where we can.
Why has elmo got no cars available?
We know that elmo has not had any availability on their vehicles for a while now, we were asked by the team to make all of their vehicles on our car subscription deals page to “coming soon” – We weren’t overly concerned as the recent drop in electric vehicles has had a huge effect on the resale market, something that companies such as elmo and ONTO depends on.
On the flip side, this has also resulted in subscription companies not wanting to commit to taking electric vehicles for their subscription fleets. FInancing due to uncertainty is expensive and along with the recent rise in interest rates, it makes electric car subscriptions unviable.
The positive is that elmo is owned by the Constellation Automotive Group, this consists of many of the leading brands in the car trade in the UK including Cinch, BCA, WeBuyAnyCar and Marshall. So we feel that elmo have just had to pause their subscription model until the market settles down.
Official Word From elmo
We have now received official word from Billy Haslam at elmo, he says “We currently are undergoing a defleeting exercise in order to raise cash, so we’re having to recall vehicles from customers to then defleet. We don’t have any replacement vehicles and there are no plans to get any more in the next two quarters.”
Thankfully elmo are here to stay which is positive news and look forward to helping them promote their electric vehicle subscriptions in the future.
Returning Your Current elmo car
We’ve received many message from customer about the termination of their current subscriptions, we understand that this can be difficult especially being so close to Christmas and during a cost of living crisis, but elmo probably do not have any movement with the funders on these vehicles. Many of the vehicles could be on manufacturer buybacks or on financing with balloon funding lines.
You can read more about this in our article about “How car subscriptions companies make money“
The good news is that we do have a number of car subscription providers who do have vehicles available and in physical stock, whilst not all of these are electric cars there are a number of companies who do have EV’s and Hybrids available.
We will show a slide of the latest car subscription deals below for you, but we can tell you that these companies that have stock include:
@elmodrive @Oliver_Jones7 Hi Oliver,
— Alice Mccaw (@MccawAlice86251) November 13, 2023
I hope you are well and having a great week so far. In the past 20mins I have received the email (attached). This has completely shocked myself. I am customer of Elmo and to be told there's no other vehicle is shocking! pic.twitter.com/yvRBpEoSVX
Latest Deals
Readers Questions
Here is a list of questions that have been asked by customers of our website, if you do have a question regarding elmo, please do let us know:
Is elmo going bust?
As of today, we don’t know the full situation behind the lack of availability on their car subscription range. We don’t believe that elmo will disappear as they are backed by a large group but as explained above, vehicle supply is difficult especially if they need to be financed due to the residual values.
We have reached out to elmo for a comment and will report this back on this page when we receive a reply.
Can I buy my elmo car?
It may be possible to purchase the car you are currently subscribed to. The best thing to do is speak to elmo by calling 0330 165 4945.
If they say no, this could be for a number of reasons, this could be due to the vehicles on a buyback or the way the finance is on the vehicle.
Can I take a new car with elmo?
No, it is not currently possible to take out a new car subscription with elmo due to lack of availability. At the moment their range of cars all state coming soon, but having seen emails from current elmo customers, there is no fleet available.
Will I have to pay collection charges with elmo?
Those customers who have been contacted by elmo have been told that they will not be charged for collection, this does need to be clarified by elmo themselves.
If you are a current elmo customer, please call them on 0330 165 4945
I'm still within contract, will I need to pay early termination charges?
Those customers who have forwared their emails to ourselves and are in contract, will not have to pay any early termination charges, this is because elmo are requesting you car back.
Where can I get another vehicle from?
Our website is designed to help you find car subscription companies, we offer a compare page and a section to see the latest deals.
There are plenty of car subscription providers who have physcial stock, these include:
More Information
If you would like any further information or help, please drop us a line using the form at the bottom of this article. Our team will reply to you and assist where we can.
