Drivehub Secures Funding In Series A Round Led By Toyota Tsusho, CAC Capital And KK Fund With the new funds, the company plans to enhance its software and technological systems, as well as expand to new markets in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore
By Prabhjeet Bhatla •
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Thailand-based online car rental platform Drivehub announced on Thursday that it has raised an undisclosed amount in its Series A funding round led by investors Toyota Tsusho, CAC Capital, and KK Fund.
With the new funds, the platform plans to enhance its software and technological systems, as well as expand to new markets in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore.
The new partnership with Toyota Tsusho, whose strengths include the sale-purchase of new or used cars, auto financing, car insurance, and vehicle maintenance, will enable the company to grow with stability, providing the capabilities to meet changing consumer demands. Additionally, small local rental car providers on the platform will be provided the opportunity to enhance and expand their business in a sustainable way, said the statement released.
"Drivehub is in the process of using the funding to expand on a regional scale, while also seeking the opportunity for the transformation of conventional rental car service into mobility sector, including subscription model, and sharing economy (P2P) peer-to-peer," said Thatchai Chuaprapaisilp, chief executive officer and co-founder, Drivehub.
The accessibility to various options, along with the mitigation of risk management has proven to be a winning formula. The company has claimed to have grown by 50 per cent compared with the same period last year, despite sales setbacks by as much as 90 per cent in April 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Our mission is to become a comprehensive rental car platform that embraces entrepreneurs who meet industry standards and professional service providers. We want to ensure that all our customers can enjoy a positive rental car experience, from easy reservation to smooth journeys. Through Drivehub, customers can view the images of actual cars they wish to reserve, accelerating the selection process. Here at Drivehub, customers will enjoy comprehensive car rental services that meet the high standards set by Drivehub and its retailers," shared Pittaya Yansomboon, chief operating officer and co-founder, Drivehub.
The startup acts as a large online platform that features well-known international car rental companies and small local rental car providers in the form of business-to-consumer (B2C) that serves users of rental cars with drivers of all sorts, embracing customers with or without a credit card.
Credit card signups in Southeast Asia have remained low, with only 21 per cent in Malaysia and 2 per cent in Indonesia. Consumers in these countries often resort to alternate forms of car rental, such as cash, as credit cards are seen as a primary risk in contemporary car rentals. In Thailand for instance, 52 per cent of all car rentals occur without a credit card, according to a report by the World Bank in 2017.
