An online car sharing business has smashed its target to raise £140,000 after launching on a crowdfunding website.

Investors took a little over a week to pledge more than £195,000 to Ascendia, run by Maidstone entrepreneurs Graeme Risby and Rob Larmour.

The company, which launched its crowdfunding campaign on Seedrs last week, aims to match luxury car owners with people who want to hire vehicles for short periods of time.

It calls itself the AirBnB of motoring, after the popular website which allows property owners to rent out their homes to holidaymakers and business people.

Its founders aim to disrupt the £39 billion car hire industry, which featured 10 million car rental transactions in the UK last year.

The company, which aims to launch in the autumn, will use the cash to pay for an exclusive online platform built specifically for peer-to-peer car hire over the last two years. The firm will also create a mobile app.

Mr Larmour, who lives in Boughton Monchelsea, said: “The support we have received from family, friends and the public in such as short space of time has been more than we expected but this has confirmed that by creating a community of car owners and car hirers we are able to change the way people use transport forever.

“Our online platform will give members the ability to choose the right car for the right journey, giving them freedom, flexibility, convenience and value.

“It also gives the car owners some additional income.

“Our crowd funding campaign on Seedrs ended really strongly and the feedback has been very positive.

“We are both from Maidstone so would love the local community to be part of our company and part of the incredible journey that lies ahead in filling a very obvious gap in the market.”

To see the Ascendia pitch, click here.