The idea for Turismo originated in 2016, when a customer explained to Angel Fievez that he owned a convertible but still had to pay tax and insurance all year round, despite only using the car for six months. “I offered him a part-time lease: a more powerful car, but only six months a year for four years,” says the founder. From this experience, a brainstorming process was born that would lead to an initial subscription model in 2019 and a pivot in 2022, towards a 100% digital and home-delivered offering.
Today, the offer comes in two families: Turismo Single, a simple subscription from six months to four years, and Turismo Multi, allowing you to change vehicles several times a year, from winter SUVs to summer convertibles. “Where traditional players impose rigid commitments and complex procedures, we offer a simple, digital and flexible solution,” Fievez says. “From your smartphone, you choose your car, set the duration, pay online--and a few days later the vehicle is delivered to your home.”
Historically focused on luxury cars, Turismo has opened up its catalogue to hybrid, electric and more accessible models. “The idea is not to provide a specific type of car, but to offer a simple, digital and flexible way of consuming the automobile.”
The fleet has doubled in one year to 175 vehicles, representing between €17m and €18m excluding tax. “Our challenge is to double every year. Over the next 12 months, we want to invest a further €15m in new vehicles,” says the founder.
With sales of €5m in 2024, Turismo is aiming for €8m in 2025. The company is also profitable: €238,279 in 2024, an increase of almost 74% compared to 2023. “Being profitable is not an end in itself. But it is essential to win the confidence of our banks, because we carry the debt as our own risk,” explains Fievez.
Growth is also being driven by an original marketing strategy. From 2023, Turismo has invested in video content highlighting not only its cars, but also its founder. “We found that when we put a human face in the videos, people paid more attention and wanted to follow the adventure,” says Fievez. This shift towards personal branding, telling their story, helped unite a large online community and raise €2.5m in 24 hours, bringing together 3,700 new shareholders around the startup.
The Grand Duchy has become the heart of the group--with about 20 employees--which owns its Belgian and Swiss subsidiaries. “I opened in Belgium and Luxembourg, but it was Luxembourg that first believed in our model,” recalls the CEO. The Spuerkeess financed the first activities in 2021 and local insurers helped build a viable offering. Today, Luxembourg concentrates the majority of business, although Belgium, France and Switzerland remain strategic.
In the short term, Turismo intends to consolidate its market share in these countries before expanding more widely. The launch of a B2B offering, Turismo Fleet, is planned for 2026-2027 to meet the needs of major accounts for flexibility and digitalisation.
Technology remains the other priority. The company is already working with six external developers and plans to set up a team of 30 R&D staff in 2026 to directly integrate the stocks of partner dealers and expand its offering. “We want every car on the market to be accessible anywhere in the world, with just a few clicks,” says Fievez.
This article was originally published in French.
