One Car Now

About One Car Now

One Car Now is a financial technology company changing how drivers on digital platforms can get a car of their own. Its model brings together rental, subscription, and a purchase option, which helps remove many of the usual barriers that make buying a vehicle hard. Instead of sending drivers into a maze of forms, separate payments, and tiny fine print that looks like an ant wrote it with a pen, the company gives them a simpler option. The monthly payment includes maintenance, insurance, and other key services. Everything in one place. Clearer. More useful. Fewer headaches. The company was founded in 2022 by Mairon Sandoval, CEO and Co Founder, together with Manuel Cangas, CPO and Co Founder. Their idea was to make mobility more accessible for thousands of people who earn income through transport apps. From the start, One Car Now used technology and new financial models to offer something more flexible, more accessible, and more transparent than traditional car financing. Because buying a car should not feel like taking a maths test with a broken calculator and one pencil with no tip.

The company has grown fast. Very fast. In 2024, the Mexico operation had only 25 employees. Today, One Car Now has more than 200 employees and keeps growing at full speed. The team works under a global model, with people in different countries and presence in 14 states across Mexico. That is exciting, but it also means more things to coordinate. More people. More processes. More need for order. When a company grows this quickly, internal operations cannot walk around in flip flops while the business is flying down the road on a motorcycle. That pace pushed One Car Now to make its internal processes more professional. For a company that keeps hiring talent and wants to grow without losing speed, payroll and Human Resources stopped being quiet background tasks. They became part of the growth engine. The company needed a solid base to support expansion without letting the operation turn into a tower of boxes wobbling in the hallway.

What challenges were they facing with payroll?

In its early stages, One Car Now managed its relationship with a large part of the team through a service provider structure. That worked at first. It made sense when the company was smaller and the operation was still taking shape. But as the business grew in Mexico, it became clear that the company needed a stronger, more organised labour structure aligned with current law.

The transition was not small. It was not just changing how people got paid. More than 150 employees had to move into a formal payroll structure without affecting the operation or the team experience. That takes care. A lot of care. It is like changing the tyres on a moving car. It can be done, but you need a good plan, steady hands, and no “let’s just see what happens” energy. As Sergio Cattaneo, VP of People, explains, “we knew that the company’s growth required us to fully professionalize our People operation. Migrating to payroll was an essential step to keep scaling with order and offer a better experience to our employees.” The speed of growth made it almost impossible to manage this process by hand. The company needed a platform that could automate payroll administration and an expert team to support each step. Without that, the process could become slow, heavy, and risky. And nobody wants a payroll migration that feels like carrying a fridge up a narrow staircase.

How has Runa helped them?

Runa helped One Car Now complete one of the most important projects in its operation: moving more than 150 employees from a service provider structure into a formal payroll structure. The process was organised, efficient, and aligned with Mexican labour rules. With the platform and payroll outsourcing service, the People team could automate tasks that would have taken a huge amount of admin work. This reduced operational complexity and helped make sure every employee received payments correctly and on time. In a migration like this, every detail matters. One small error can grow fast, like a coffee stain on a white shirt five minutes before a meeting. “The migration was much simpler than we expected. Having an intuitive platform and a team that supported us throughout the entire process made a huge difference for us,” says Sergio Cattaneo, VP of People.

Runa also helped the company keep all employee information in one platform. That gave the People team more visibility, control, and traceability. Daily admin became simpler, and the operational load dropped in a big way. Instead of looking for data in several places like someone hunting for lost keys right before leaving the house, the team can now work from one system with much more clarity. For a company that keeps adding talent and expanding operations, having standard processes that are ready to grow became essential. One Car Now can now stay efficient without hurting the employee experience. Because growth is great, but growth with order is even better. Growth without order is like stuffing everything into a backpack and sitting on it just to close it.

Why did they choose Runa?

When One Car Now looked for a payroll solution, it needed more than a tech platform. The company was looking for a partner to support an internal change. It needed automation, yes, but also expert guidance to carry out a large migration without losing control. The decision was also built on trust. The team had known Runa for several years and knew the platform was easy to use, the service was solid, and the solution could adapt to companies growing fast. They did not want a pretty tool that would stare at the ceiling when questions came up. They wanted real support.

As Sergio Cattaneo, VP of People, points out, “we had known Runa for a long time and knew it was an easy to use platform. In addition, the payroll outsourcing service allowed us to fully free ourselves from the operational workload of payroll while we continued growing.” Another key factor was the mix of technology with a team of specialists that supports the operation on an ongoing basis. That mix made it possible to put new processes in place quickly, keep strong compliance standards, and avoid having the internal team dedicate full resources to payroll admin. “If a company does not want to have someone dedicated one hundred percent to managing payroll internally, Runa is probably one of the best options available. It allows you to focus on growing the business while such a critical process remains in good hands,” concludes Sergio Cattaneo, VP of People.

Where will One Car Now be in 10 years?

One Car Now wants to become the leading financial mobility platform for drivers in Latin America. The company plans to take its subscription model with a purchase option into new markets and help more people access their own vehicle through flexible and innovative solutions.

To get there, One Car Now will keep betting on technology, financial innovation, and strong operations. It will also keep building an internal culture that can support steady growth. Because growing fast is not only about pressing the accelerator. You also need brakes, a steering wheel, and someone who can read the map. As Sergio Cattaneo, VP of People, says, “our goal is to continue building an organization capable of growing in an organized way, with solid processes and the best tools to offer a great experience to both our employees and our customers.”