What is SoCar? SoCar Review

Basic Introduction

Since entering the Malaysian market in 2018, SoCar has mainly operated in Malaysia. SoCar has set up more than 1,000 operating points in many cities in Malaysia, including Klang Valley, Johor Baru, Penang, Ipoh, etc., operating more than 27 models and more than 2,000 vehicles.

Service Introduction

Currently, the fleet consists of Perodua Axia and Honda City, each accounting for 30%, and the remaining 40% is made up of Honda HR-V and MINI Cooper.

The hourly Socar programme is priced as follows: Hourly Axia Perodua – RM8 on weekdays and RM11 per hour on weekends, Honda City RM9.90 on weekdays and RM15.90 on weekends, Honda HR is RM25 on weekdays and RM18.90 on weekends and MINI Cooper is RM25 on weekdays and RM30 on weekends (prices exclude sales tax).

To use it, download the iOS or Android app from the App Store and Play Store respectively and log in. The specific requirements are proof of identity (ID card or passport) and a valid driver's license, submitted by uploading their respective photos. A photo of the user is also required to verify whether the document holder and the app user are the same person.

Once the account has been verified via SMS, the booking can be made. The user can go to the Socar area where the vehicle is located and once a photo of the vehicle is taken and uploaded to verify its condition, the user is on their way.

There is also a home delivery service for added flexibility, where users can have a Socar vehicle delivered to their desired pickup point and then delivered to their chosen drop-off location. This service will be charged an additional RM5 and is currently limited to the Bangsar and Damansara Highlands areas.

Financing

In 2014, it raised $18 million in its first Series A round of financing.

In November 2015, it received US$56 million in financing.

In April 2018, it received a US$57 million investment from South Korean private equity firm IMM Private Equity.

In January 2019, South Korean eco-friendly taxi service SoCar will use 50 billion won (about 44 million U.S. dollars) from four venture capital firms to develop its mobile service platform. Participants in the Series D round include Silicon Valley's Altos Ventures, SoftBank Ventures Korea, KB Investment, and Stonebridge Ventures.

In early 2020, SoCar completed a US$45 million Series E financing round invested by LB Private Equity.

In February 2020, South Korea's car-sharing platform "SoCar" recently completed 60 billion won (52.2 million U.S. dollars) in financing. Investors in this round include local Korean investment institutions SG Private Equity and Songhyun Investment. Influenced by this round of financing, SoCar also became the first startup in South Korea with a market value of more than 1 trillion won, becoming the latest "unicorn" company in the Asian country. For the funds from the new round of financing, "SoCar" intends to use it to continuously improve the technical level of the platform, acquire new technologies, and improve its services.

Development History

In early 2018, SoCar launched its service in Malaysia, establishing 120 rental zones and deploying 240 vehicles.

References

• 1. South Korean car-sharing platform SOCAR received $18 million in Series A financing: Sohu [cited on 2020-02-20T16:00:00.000Z]