After investing in the car, Softbank entered the field of car rental and autopilot.
Edit: Yu Meng
Editor’s note: The author Alnoor Peermohamed, Aditi Shrivastava, original title: SoftBank looks to move on with Indian mobility sector
Going to the sea (ID: wow36krchuhai) Summary points:
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After leading the investment in the global network car market, Softbank may enter India, the world’s largest two-wheeler market, by investing in emerging two-wheeler leasing companies
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Motorcycle rental has not yet been fully implemented in India, and the economic benefits of the unit have yet to be proven. The entire industry is still in its infancy
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The motorcycle sharing travel industry is full of opportunities, but given the average investment amount of Softbank in the past, there is currently no room for investment in this area.
Softbank or will invest in an emerging two-wheeler rental company in India | Image Source: Unsplash
A number of people familiar with the matter said that Japanese investment giant Softbank is currently closely evaluating the Indian travel sector, including two-round travel, to find the next stage of innovation after the network.
Softbank dominated the global online car market by betting on Uber, Grab, Didi Travel and Ola’s major head companies. Subsequently, the company entered emerging market segments such as leasing, autonomous driving and even asset management around the world. The same situation may also be staged in the Indian market. India is the world’s largest two-round travel market, and Softbank may enter the market outside the network by investing in emerging two-wheeler leasing companies. The Japanese company has already had contacts with companies such as Bounce, Vogo, and Drivezy, but has not yet planned to invest.
Softbank’s interest in the new travel market from investment Getaround and Fair can be seen. Getaround, a US P2P car rental service company, received a $300 million investment in Softbank last August; Fair is a US car rental platform that received a $385 million investment in Softbank last December. The Softbank spokesperson declined to comment, but said that the company is currently focusing on the online car industry and is interested in future technological developments in the field.
India is the world’s largest two-wheel market | Source: Unsplash
The motorcycle rental business is still in its infancy and is committed to improving the “first kilometer” and “last mile” of people’s travel. The prospects are clear. However, motorcycle rental has not yet been fully implemented across India, and the economic benefits of the unit have not yet been proven. Investors say that Softbank and other investment giants are paying close attention to unit economics, just as they did when investing in US and Chinese companies.
“This business model works well in Bangalore, but the problem is the acceptance of it in other big cities in India, which determines whether the business can scale up,” said one of the investors in a motorcycle rental company. “Moreover, its unit economic benefits have yet to be proved. Even in accordance with the business density of motorcycle rentals in Bangalore, the losses make the company unsustainable.” The three giants of the motorcycle rental industry are mainly in Bangalore and some surrounding cities, planning this year. Entering new markets later.
P2P rental platforms such as Zoomcar, Revv, and Drivezy have been around for some time, but due to the uncertainty in the Indian market, these companies have expanded less than expected. On the contrary, short-distance city motorcycle riding has become a fast-growing business, with more than 100,000 daily rides, most of which are concentrated in Bangalore. However, this is only one-fifth of the traffic of companies such as Ola and Uber, which are invested by Softbank in India.
Considering the emergence of the Indian motorcycle sharing travel industry in less than a year, this market is still full of opportunities. However, for giants like Softbank, it is still too early to make a big impact in this field. A founding motorcycle sharing travel companyEntrepreneurs said: “Considering the average investment amount of Softbank in the past, there is currently no room for investment in this area.”Softbank investment may have to wait for some time, but Bounce and Vogo may Will approach the market in the coming weeks and raise at least one more round of funds to external investors.
