Before the MCO, a new peer-to-peer (P2P) car-sharing startup had launched.
It was called Trevo, and it surprised us that a new player was entering a market with several other established players.
Kwikcar and Moovby are two names that come to mind when speaking of P2P car-sharing in Malaysia.
However, one of the biggest advantages Trevo might hold over them is the fact that its parent company is Socar.
Not only is it leveraging on Socar’s expertise in the car-sharing industry, but part of Socar’s latest funding round of US$18 million also went into building features to enhance Trevo’s offerings.
But just having a big name backing you up isn’t quite enough to guarantee success because it all still comes down to how well you cater to users, as Trevo’s General Manager, Susan Teoh told Vulcan Post.
One-Upping The Competition
For those unaware, P2P car-sharing startups differ from usual car-sharing ones, which usually own the fleet of cars available for use.
With P2P car-sharing startups, the cars listed are owned by other urbanites who may be looking to earn some passive income if their cars are often idle, thus benefitting hosts, guests, and the environment.
I’d say that P2P car-sharing startups actually have a lot more work to do, as they have to handle both hosts and guests while also making sure any communication between both parties goes well.
Acting as the gel between hosts and guests, Susan shared that Trevo provides 3 distinctive solutions that set it apart from the competition.
Firstly, they have something called Trevo Track.
“Unlike sharing houses, cars move, and we want to know where it is when renters need our help,” Susan said, adding, “So, we have Trevo Track where hosts can opt-in for high accuracy location tracking.”
There’s also Trevo Shield, which is a protection service offered that Trevo claims is one of the best in the Malaysian market, with up to RM3 million in liability protection for a host’s vehicle.
The third solution she highlighted was Trevo Delivers, where their in-house custodian team delivers cars from hosts to guests within Klang Valley.
The delivery fee is usually RM20, but it’s free of charge for the meantime so that users can familiarise themselves with the platform.
Small things like the above solutions can make all the difference in the user experience, as even if you don’t use them yet, at least they’ll be there if you need them in the future.
It’s all about giving peace of mind to users: being able to track their vehicles will assure hosts that their cars are still safe, comprehensive insurance is a plus, and having the option of Trevo Delivers is convenient to both hosts and users.
A Swift Expansion
Aside from the attention to detail when it comes to user convenience, Trevo also offers competitive pricing.
I took a look at how vehicles are priced on Trevo VS on its 2 main competitors’ platforms, Moovby and Kwikcar just to see how it compares.
For a 2015 model of a Perodua Myvi:
- Trevo’s daily rate is RM34 (slashed from RM68 for the time being),
- Moovby’s daily rate is RM140,
- Kwikcar’s daily estimated rate is RM87.
Do note that this isn’t an in-depth comparison, as the age of the car in the first place would affect the overall pricing, amongst other factors.
Malaysians certainly seem interested in what Trevo has to offer, since within half a year, Trevo has already garnered an impressive user base.
“We have around 30,000 users now, and we don’t classify our users as exclusively hosts or guests as a host can become a guest anytime and vice versa,” Susan said.
Their users range in ages 19 to 78, and have used their selection of vehicles for a variety of occasions ranging from daily commutes to even weddings.
Susan shared, “Trevo’s expansion in Malaysia continues swiftly. We are poised to build up a brand and supply pipeline in Malaysia in another target country within the region for the next 2 years.”
Two technical areas that they foresee advancement in would namely be the Know Your Customer (KYC) process and machine learning (ML) development.
“We take KYC seriously and would continue to enhance the feature in combating illegal transactions, allowing enhanced protection to our car hosts who might otherwise be harmed by crime,” Susan stated.
Regarding ML, she explained that it could be applied to the development of effective pricing automation solutions, behaviour interpretation for optimum products offering, and enhancement on security performance, to name a few.
- You can read about other car-sharing startups we’ve written about here.
Featured Image Credit: Trevo
