Self-drive car rentals are booming again.

Following the holiday season, demand for self-drive car rentals continued to maintain a 30% growth rate compared to the same period last year. This was primarily due to the opening of several new expressways in the South, making it easier for people to travel to tourist destinations.

Mr. Nguyen Van Long, Director of Sigo Vietnam Co., Ltd. (owner of the Sigo car rental application), acknowledged that the new expressways have helped increase the number of car rental customers. In addition, the significant decrease in self-drive rental prices compared to last year is also one of the factors stimulating demand. Specifically, the rental price for Class A cars has decreased the most, by up to 40%, currently around 300,000 VND/day; Class B and C cars have decreased by about 10%, to 700,000 VND to 1 million VND/day; and Class D cars have decreased by about 5%, to 1.2-1.4 million VND.

The number of self-drive rental cars has increased significantly.

"Customers have become accustomed to renting cars through apps. The rental procedures are simpler and easier, no longer requiring household registration, temporary residence permits, property mortgages, or collateral of tens of millions of dong as before; a citizen's identity card is sufficient. Previously, car rental companies limited the daily mileage to no more than 300 km, but now, due to competition, apps no longer limit mileage, which has significantly increased the number of customers renting cars," the app owner explained.

According to Mr. Long, due to the summer tourist season, the demand for self-drive car rentals is quite high. Therefore, rental prices during the summer months are also about 10% higher than in normal months.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Leo, Director of Cooperative No. 4 for Tourist Vehicles and Tourism Transportation (Ho Chi Minh City), said that in the near future, the expressways to Da Lat (Lam Dong) and the section of the expressway from Phan Rang (Ninh Thuan) connecting to Cam Ranh (Khanh Hoa) will be completed, providing a smooth route to Nha Trang; and the Dong Nai - Ba Ria Vung Tau expressway, currently under construction, will be put into use. The shortened travel distance will attract even more tourists to rent vehicles.

According to Mr. Chu Phat Dat, Director of the self-drive car rental platform Ibookcar, besides existing self-drive car rental apps like Chungxe, Sigo, Mioto, and Goxe, companies in the tourism and transportation sector have recently entered this market, leading to intense competition. Furthermore, the number of privately owned vehicles participating in self-drive rentals has increased significantly, currently accounting for approximately 50%-60% of the total vehicles on the market. This explains why Zoomcar, a self-drive car rental app from India, recently announced it would cease operations in Vietnam due to challenging market conditions in general and the self-drive car rental service in particular.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/kinh-te/cho-thue-xe-tu-lai-soi-dong-tro-lai-20230606215635658.htm