India-based automotive portal Zoomcar.com is making the shift to a marketplace-only business model by the end of the year. This means their website will be populated entirely by associates posting their own cars for hire instead of Zoomcar using their own fleet.
Founder Greg Moran said at a press conference on Wednesday that cars owned by associates would account for 100% of its fleet by the end of the year.
“(Cost) is certainly a consideration, but not the prime consideration. This provides for a much better customer experience and allows us to scale more. The biggest challenge has always been various supply constraints,” said Moran.
Zoomcar charges a 25% commission on the revenues that its associates make.
To make the peer-to-peer experience seamless, Zoomcar on Wednesday launched a solution called ‘Cadabra’ that will let car owners feel more confident about renting their vehicles out to the firm. The system logs information on how its customers are driving, plus real time information on fuel levels, distance travelled and engine health. The Cadabra system will also offset maintenance and insurance costs for the company.
Zoomcar plans to will sell the remaining cars in its fleet over time.
