Hyundai s new car-sharing program lets users drive its electric cars for free

Hyundai IONIQ
Hyundai Sai Gon Car USA




LOS ANGELES - Hyundai is jumping into the car-sharing space with a project of its own, and it involves free cars.

The automaker is partnering with WaiveCar - an all-electric car-sharing platform that operates on advertising revenue - to give customers a chance to drive its new IONIQ electric vehicle free of charge for the first two hours of driving.

The program launches in Los Angeles in January.

Here's the catch: the cars will be wrapped in branded graphics, and there's a 4G-connected digital display on the roof that runs geo-targeted ads.

In a press release on Wednesday, Hyundai offered an example of what other drivers might see if you were stuck in traffic: "This commute would be a lot more comfortable in a Hyundai IONIQ," an ad might read.