Interview: Drive Fuze’s James Birch

By:

Christian Jansen
Last update 11. January 2024 Reading time 3:28 min

In a recent interview with Christian Jansen, James Birch, Chief Operating Officer at Drive Fuze, offers a comprehensive overview of the company’s car subscriptions, highlighting what’s special about the service.

What’s your background and why did you decide to be part of Drive Fuze?

I’ve worked in the automotive industry for many years – in dealerships, for manufacturers and for leasing companies. Trust me, I’ve seen it all!

I was the MD of a leasing company and looking for a subscription model to implement when I first became aware of Drive Fuze, It didn’t just stand out because it brings something new to the industry; it struck me as offering a unique product and service that drivers genuinely need.

I’ve been part of businesses that sell other car finance solutions; I’ve even sold them myself. I know what some of the pitfalls and drawbacks can be, with hefty deposits, inflexible contracts, and unexpected extra costs. These are things that simply don’t apply with all-inclusive subscriptions.

Everything points towards subscriptions as the future of car ownership – even though technically we’re talking about a shift from ownership to usership. So, I thought why not back the best, most comprehensive, most flexible subscription offering in the market?

What’s special about Drive Fuze?

We provide a wide range of petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric vehicles under an all-inclusive monthly subscription, and we’re committed to offering the best customer experience out there.

Decades of automotive expertise and experience have gone into developing our proposition, with every touch point designed around the wants and needs of our users.

We know it can be painful to spend weekend after weekend making return visits to a dealership and then waiting months for the new car you’ve bought to be delivered. And it can be disappointing to be locked into a car finance contract for a period of years when your car no longer meets your needs – or worse, your circumstances have changed and it’s putting you under pressure financially.

We’ve taken all of this into account to create what we truly believe is the best, most user-friendly car subscription solution out there.

We’re car people. That’s not to say for one moment that everyone on the Drive Fuze team zooms around a track in a supercar every weekend, but we believe that having a car is a brilliant thing. It makes so many of life’s experiences possible – so why not have one that suits your needs, on terms you can control? There’s no stress, no hassle and no long-term contract – it’s there for you to enjoy and not worry about.

Why subscribe with Drive Fuze?

Research has shown that two thirds of Brits don’t actually know what they’re spending on running their car – despite it being the biggest household expense for most, after their mortgage or rent payments. It’s easy to understand why this might be the case, but at the same time, it’s hard to get your head around why so many of us are unclear on something so significant!

With Drive Fuze, all there is to think about is a single, all-inclusive monthly fee that covers everything except fuel or electric charging. Insurance, maintenance, servicing, road tax and breakdown cover are all included.

And that means we’re helping people to take control of what they’re spending – in two important ways. Firstly, we’ve brought all of the costs together into a single, predictable monthly payment. And secondly, we’ve made it easy for our customers to respond to changing circumstances like a new baby or a new job, with rolling monthly contracts they can start, end or change at any time.

For us it’s about more than just the practicalities of what’s covered by the monthly fee. We pride ourselves on excellent service, being there whenever our customers need us, delivering a car in just seven days and ultimately, giving our customers the flexibility to enjoy having a new car on their own terms.

Whenever I talk about Drive Fuze, I hear myself repeating words like ‘enjoy’ and ‘own terms’ – that’s the crux of it for me.

Is a Drive Fuze subscription good value?

Absolutely! Of course, there are cheaper ways to drive a car if you don’t mind how old it is, the condition it’s in and the mileage on the clock… but subscriptions are an extremely cost-effective way to access a new or nearly new vehicle, and can save you money compared with leasing, financing or ownership.

Even if your monthly subscription payments work out slightly higher compared with other finance options – not always the case! – in many cases a Drive Fuze subscription costs less overall, once road tax, insurance, servicing, maintenance, breakdown cover and replacement tyres (when needed!) are factored in. And don’t forget the added value of convenience, flexibility and great service.

It’s also important to remember that accessing additional services as part of a subscription is a smart move – providers like us are insuring whole fleets of cars, which means we can negotiate lower rates and pass the savings on.

What do Drive Fuze customers say?

We’re proud of the reviews we get from our customers – their feedback is everything to us.

Our customer service has been described as ‘faultless’, our website and application process are regularly highlighted for being incredibly user-friendly, and our pricing is described as ‘transparent’ and ‘good value’.

We’ve also helped a few customers out of tight situations where they’ve needed a new car pronto – and we’ve had great feedback on the variety of cars customers can choose from.
So we’re know we’re getting this right.

October 5th 2023