Car sharing market in India is at a nascent stage, however, as per industry participants this market is expected to witness a boom over the next decade, with car sharing vehicle pool increasing from 15,000 in 2017 to 150,000 by 2022. Automakers are increasingly getting interested to tap the potential of this market considering the young population in the country. In 2018, Mahindra Electric partnered with Zoomcar to offer its EV for car sharing.
Retail sales will continue to be dominant in India, due to low passenger car penetration, rising income levels, and status symbol associated with owning a car in the country. However, Hyundai does not want to lose an opportunity in the long term to develop an alternate sales channel for its cars.
Both Korea and India are the most important markets for Hyundai, together accounting for considerable share in its revenues. By investing in Revv, Hyundai wants to benefit from the early mover advantage in India to fight future competition. In 2017, Hyundai also partnered with Korean ride sharing start-up, Luxi. – Aman Madhok