Only about 5 percent of the population owns a car in India, and car-riding services are becoming a popular option to the existing autorickshaws.
The services that are offered differ amongst the various rental companies around the world. In India, OlaCabs’ sedans and hatchbacks can be accessed via mobile phone apps as well as by calling a call center for service. Cash payments, as also payments made through pre-loaded money wallet mobile apps are accepted.
OlaCabs’ CEO Mr. Bhavish Aggarwal disclosed that his three-year-old company’s revenues are growing by 40 percent to 50 percent every month, and that he has expanded to 20 cities in India already.
Even though the company has yet to register profit, it has already had four rounds of financing, with the most recent being to the tune of $210 million from SoftBank, Tiger Global, Matrix India and others.
In contrast, North American car rental companies add differentiators to attract customers in a fiercely competitive business. Car2Go recently launched a Brooklyn-only, per-minute ride to supplement several cities, and uses Smart Cars with built-in eco-friendly tracking services to monitor fuel efficiency.
