Tag: car service

  • Indian car rental service ZoomCar exits Vietnam

    Indian car rental service ZoomCar exits Vietnam

    Indian car rental platform ZoomCar has quit the Vietnamese market after operating for over a year, citing difficulties and further challenges ahead.

    Addressing car owners in an announcement Tuesday afternoon, it promised, however to fulfill all obligations to them and customers.

    Technicians will schedule with the owners to collect the equipment installed on their vehicles.

    They will be paid their dues by June 30.

    ZoomCar was launched in 2013 in India as a platform connecting people owning cars with renters, and came to Ho Chi Minh City in early 2022.

    It had earlier considered investing US$25 million in Vietnam.

    Within the first four months of coming to Vietnam it had around 1,000 cars for lease, and offered large discounts to both renters and owners.

    But the discounts started to dwindle gradually.

    Ky, an HCMC’s District 8 owner since March last year, said he was surprised to learn about the company’s exit.

    He had been making less and less money from leasing his car on the app since six months ago.

    “The company took a commission of 40% on each trip, which is high, and forced car owners like us to list our vehicle on the platform all the time.”

    Recent economic difficulties have reduced demand, he added.

  • Gojek launches car service in HCMC

    Gojek launches car service in HCMC

    Gojek on Thursday debuted its four-wheel ride-hailing service GoCar, first prioritizing healthcare workers before expanding to the public later this year.

    The Indonesian ride-hailing company started the service with 50 vehicles in Ho Chi Minh City dedicated to serving healthcare workers from five hospitals and medical command centers.

    All driver-partners are required to test Covid-19 negative before their first trip and on a weekly basis after that.

    Gojek has arranged for drivers to stay at hotels from now until late September when the city’s social distancing campaign is set to end.

    “We have made all the necessary preparations to launch GoCar this year,” said Duc Phung, Gojek Vietnam general manager.

    “When the pandemic escalated in HCMC and social distancing regulations were put in place, we pivoted quickly, adjusting the service to focus on supporting healthcare workers.”

    GoCar is the latest addition to Gojek’s line-up of offerings in the Vietnamese market, which include on-demand services for motorbike-hailing (GoRide), parcel delivery (GoSend) and online food delivery (GoFood).

    Its competitors Grab and Be have been offering car services for years.

  • JD and Toyota partner to expand auto services business

    JD and Toyota partner to expand auto services business

    FAW Toyota, a joint venture between Toyota Motor Company and First Automobile Works, has launched a flagship store on JD.com, China’s largest retailer, allowing customers in China to purchase and schedule maintenance services online and then bring their vehicles to FAW Toyota’s offline service centers at their convenience.

    In addition to auto services, customers can easily purchase a variety of automobile parts and related products.

    After making their online purchases, customers will receive a verification code on their phones, which they can use at FAW Toyota’s offline ‘4S’ stores to redeem their parts, supplies, installation or repair services.

    Auto parts and supplies can also be delivered directly to customers’ homes.

    The partnership was concluded to improve customers’ level of convenience while FAW Toyota will gain insights from the various data it will collect from the platform such as age, gender, and purchasing behavior of shoppers.

    As one of the latest applications of its “Boundaryless Retail” strategy, last month JD launched a new offline automotive initiative called JD Auto Service, known in Chinese as Jingdong Jingche Hui.

    The initiative already includes nearly 200 third-party offline car repair stores.

    Through JD Auto Service, customers can buy auto parts or maintenance services on JD.com, and then go to a JD Auto Service location for installation.

    To ensure high-quality service, each of the offline stores is screened to meet JD’s strict standards before joining the network.

    JD has been leveraging its advanced e-commerce capabilities and offline resources to expand into China’s booming automotive aftermarket business.

    The company’s omnichannel model now covers the entire purchasing process for car parts and services.

    JD currently has partnerships with over 30,000 authorized offline auto stores for complementary service.

    Chinese car owners have so far responded enthusiastically to JD’s omnichannel network.