Uber has launched a world-first car rental service in Australia

Brisbane is the first city in Australia to receive access to Uber’s new car rental service, Uber Rent.

The rideshare platform launched a trial of the world-first new feature, which lets users hire a car through the Uber app.

To use Uber Rent, you’ll first need to update your Uber app to the latest version. If you’re part of the initial rollout, you’ll be able to select “Rentals”, where you’ll see a search page provided by CarTrawler – a car rental supplier and Uber’s partner. From there you can choose and book the car you’d like, as well as the date and location.

“While many Australians will drive to a wine region, down the coast or explore the mountains in their own car – not everyone has access to their own private vehicle,” Uber Australia and New Zealand, General Manager Dom Taylor said in a statement. “At Uber we believe you should always be able to get around, even if you don’t own your own car, and Uber Rent is one more way of helping people do just that.”

Not everyone will have access to it at once. During the trial, the feature will only be available for 50% of regular Uber users. It will first launch for 50% of app users in Brisbane before it heads to users in the Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide.

Uber’s new service comes after research from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries found car sales dropped 48.5% in April compared to the same time last year. It marks the single biggest monthly drop since records first began in 1991.

With Uber Rent, users get 10% of the cost of their first rental back in Uber Credits. For every car rental after that, you’ll get at least 1 Uber Rewards point for every dollar you spend.

In May, Uber launched a temporary service that let users book a trip by the hour so they can get their essential shopping done. The ‘Hourly Driver’ option has a base rate of $59 an hour and was made available in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.