Have you ever sought to rent a car for a trip or to participate in a wedding?.. A large number of citizens face difficulty in renting a car due to the lack of recognized prices or because of the procedures required to ensure the return of the car.. Zoom Car is working to solve this problem, which faced by a large number of developing markets.
The company believes that Egypt enjoys great growth opportunities, as the percentage of car ownership does not exceed 5%, which means that there are great growth opportunities.
Capital saw an extensive dialogue with Greg Moran, co-founder and CEO of Zoom Car, and Hany Olma, Vice Chairman and Regional Director of the company, to present the company’s strategy in Egypt in the coming years.. Below is the text of the dialogue.
Tell us about “Zoom Car” and the opportunities you are betting on in Egypt?
Moran: Zoom Car Headquarters in India. It is a platform that solves a problem facing the world and a great challenge at the global level with regard to major cities and Cairo within these cities and has similar characteristics to India and other markets in which we operate.
One of the important points in the field is that the percentage of car ownership in Egypt does not exceed 5%, which means that there are high growth opportunities in the local market, with citizens’ aspirations to buy cars, but it is related to an increase in cost, which makes “Zoom Car” a solution to this problem.
What challenges does the company expect to face in the coming period?
Moran: The situation in Egypt is distinct and unique, especially that we are the only company that offers a technology-based market in the first place, while the rest of the companies operating in similar fields resort to the traditional market… But we are working on a different model with regard to vehicles and owners, and this represents better opportunities at the level the local.
And we target the middle class for renting cars for a period of hours or two days, and with regard to the process of supplying cars, we are dealing with car owners who do not use the car optimally, as there are millions of cars that are not frequently used on the roads.
With regard to the economic aspect, there is no cost to the owner and he does not use the car in the first place, which benefits him, and this is an opportunity for car owners.
What is the company’s plan in Egypt for the next period?
Note: Zoom Car works on reconciliation between the owner and the user, and the rental fee is divided at 60% for the owner and 40% for the Zoom Car company.
There are hundreds of cars currently on the company’s network, and orders are witnessing a rapid growth since the start of operation in mid-October, and in 2022 we aim to expand in different governorates, most notably Alexandria, Hurghada and Sharm El-Sheikh.
We plan to attract about 20,000 cars by the end of 2022, in light of investments amounting to $25 million over the next three years.
Certain types of cars are accepted starting from the 2017 model. It is also required that the vehicle run less than 70,000 km, and be insured.
The platform currently includes 250-500 cars, while the average number of users has reached 3,500 people.
How does the rental process work on the platform?
Note: Most of the process is done through the application, and it is not within the company’s plan to confront the owner with the renter, as a party from the company delivers the car to the customer for a fee.
We have started to work in Heliopolis, Madinah, Maadi and Mokattam, and upon expansion there will be a challenge regarding identifying a party from the company to deliver the car, citing what is happening in India, in which a device is installed inside the car so that it can be opened through the application, but the concerned authorities in Egypt must be addressed to install this device .
He will be inside the car upon receiving the license, and an authorization by the company to the renter to drive, and he will use it according to the time agreed upon between him and the company.
