Zoomcar will increase the number of electric cars in its fleet over the next 2 years

Zoomcar, a self-driving car rental company, plans to increase the number of electric cars in its fleet from 2 to 5% currently to 30 to 35% over the next two years. The company is well positioned to take advantage of the trend towards electrification, as the cars in its fleet cover a high number of kilometers, which makes them more viable than those in the personal segment, said Greg Moran, co-founder. and CEO of Zoomcar.

“The price of an electric car is much higher than that of an internal combustion car (ICE), but our model makes very efficient use of a car. Therefore, we are uniquely positioned to take advantage of the electrification trend and the EV policy announced by states, ”said Moran. Commercial standard. Created in 2013, Zoomcar allows users to rent cars by the month, week, day or even by the hour.

Moran added, however, that much will depend on the launches of electric vehicle models by automakers. According to Moran, the global trend towards electrification will accelerate if companies like Tesla that have the required scale enter the market.

In an effort to reduce fossil fuel imports and carbon emissions, the Indian government has pushed the electrification of the automotive market. Over the past three years, various policy measures and incentives have been announced for faster adoption of electric mobility under the FAME program.

A strong preference for safe and secure transportation has helped the self-driving business that has been significantly weakened by the pandemic resurface and helped it reach March levels, Moran said.

He expects him to reach where he was in early 2020 before the outbreak of the pandemic, by the end of this month. Zoomcar currently has 6,500 cars deployed in the driverless car rental business. There were nearly 10,000 cars before the pandemic. “There is a huge momentum and a strong tailwind,” he said. Even then, business travel remains muted due to working from home.

Meanwhile, ahead of its listing in the US market which should be completed by the end of this fiscal year, the Sequoia-backed Zoomcar is developing a plan to break into new markets. It plans to be present in 25 countries over the next three years. This includes countries in Africa, Southeast Asia and South America.

In January of this year, India’s largest personal mobility platform announced the launch of Zoomcar Mobility Services (ZMS), to provide a diverse range of software platform services across the entire spectrum of vehicle categories ranging from two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers, trucks and buses. ZMS will work on both internal combustion and electric vehicles and is completely hardware independent.

Zoomcar takes 80% of the market share and claims to be the only stand-alone application that allows a sharing function: subscribers can “share” their car on Zoomcar’s short-term rental platform in exchange for a share of the revenue. , thus reducing their effective subscription cost up to 70 percent. Over the past few years, the company has partnered with several car manufacturers in India and offers subscription services on behalf of the companies.

In August of last year, MG Motor collaborated with Zoomcar for an automotive subscription service. It uses Zoomcar’s existing platform to reach the masses. MG’s subscription offer is available for 12, 24 and 36 months with monthly payment options. However, with a longer term, the monthly fees are lower.

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