Lyft launches rental option on app

Lyft Inc on Thursday launched a rental option on its app that will allow certain riders in San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles to rent cars, the ride-hailing company said on a blog post. The loss-making company and its larger rival Uber Technologies Inc have over the years relied on heavy subsidies to attract riders and are also spending to expand into other areas.

As rental companies gobble up more and more cars at discounted prices, margins of carmakers like General Motors are imploding, particularly in Sao Paulo, Uber's busiest city in the world. Lyft offered several cars on the app, including Volkswagen Passat sedan in Bay Area for $35 a day and a Volkswagen Atlas at $45 a day.