Socar gears up for further growth in 2023 backed by high demand last year

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 26 (Bernama) -- Socar, the leading car-rental app in Malaysia, is confident in its growth prospects this year backed by promising numbers achieved throughout 2022 when Malaysians highly embraced the sustainable mobility solution offered by the company.

Socar Mobility Malaysia chief executive officer Shylendra Nathan said as Malaysia relaxed travel restrictions, Socar’s service offerings proved appealing to drivers, enabling the company to record healthy growth in 2022.

“Socar offers drivers a convenient way to access a range of car models to suit their needs on demand while providing the possibility of living car-free the rest of the time.

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“Car-sharing also offers another sustainable mode of mobility that reduces the number of private cars on our roads, complementing other means such as public transportation and e-hailing,” he said in a statement today.

He said since travel restrictions were lifted, Socar recorded robust growth with users increasing to over 20,000 from 5,000 during the conditional movement control order period, indicating a demand for mobility options and the relevance of car-sharing as a choice for drivers.

“Support services that improve the experience such as the Socar-2-You delivery and pickup services also saw a rise in demand.

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“The new 24-hour pickup-only service introduced in December 2022 is the latest in Socar’s range of services designed to elevate the end-to-end shared mobility experience for users,” he said.

He said to further cater to a growing customer base, Socar has expanded the range of car models in its fleet to more than 40, including compact, sedan and hatchback options to suit a variety of lifestyles and use cases.

Besides that, he said another key expansion was the arrival of Socar in Kota Kinabalu, joining existing locations in the Klang Valley, Penang, Ipoh, Seremban, Melaka and Johor Bahru.

“In the nine months since arriving in Kota Kinabalu, Socar has seen over 2,000 bookings completed, a promising growth indicator for East Malaysia,” he added.

-- BERNAMA