GM launches a peer-to-peer car sharing service

General Motors announced the launch of a peer-to-peer rental program on Tuesday, allowing GM owners to list their vehicles to rent through the automaker's car-sharing platform.

Dubbed Peer Cars, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac owners can put their cars and trucks up for rent when they don't plan on using them. The company is touting the service as a way for GM customers to earn extra income. The service is an expansion of GM's existing car-sharing platform Maven, the company said, and allows people to rent cars on-demand, at low cost.

"Your car is one of the most expensive things you own. Sitting idle, it is a wasted asset," said Julia Steyn the vice president of General Motors Urban Mobility and Maven. "Maven's peer-to-peer offering is a smart way for owners to offset their vehicle investment."

GM's Peer Cars follows the on-demand car sharing model of startups such as Turo and Getaround. Tesla also has plans to build a ridesharing network, but one that would involve autonomous vehicles.

Peer Cars vehicles must be model year 2015 or newer, the company said. GM will first test the service in Chicago, Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and plans to expand to other locations in the fall.