Thai car rental platform Drivehub eyes Southeast Asia expansion after $1m raise

Thailand-based car rental marketplace Drivehub announced it has reached breakeven and is now looking to expand into other Southeast Asian markets, following its US$1 million round led by Singapore’s KK Fund last year.

It also plans to raise additional funds to fuel its regional expansion and leverage its fleet of vehicles to venture into other mobility sectors, such as the emerging vehicle subscription model and peer-to-peer car rental.

Photo credit: Drivehub

Founded in 2017, Drivehub looks to tackle several pain points associated with the car rental industry, such as risk management and limited access.

Thatchai Chuaprapaisilp, CEO and co-founder of Drivehub, said that most nationwide car rental providers rely on credit cards as their primary risk management criteria. With the low level of credit card ownership in Southeast Asia, non-credit card holders resort to renting from local car rental providers.

According to the company, the non-credit car rental market segment contributed to about 52% of the leisure car rental market in Thailand. “These local car rental providers are aware that consumer behavior is rapidly changing from offline to online. However, they do not have the financial resources and technical know-how to develop and maintain their very own online car rental platform or channel,” said Chuaprapaisilp.

Through its marketplace, Drivehub combines both nationwide and local car rental providers to operate more efficiently. “This initiative has also contributed to helping Drivehub reached the breakeven point,” said Drivehub chief marketing officer Napat Ratanapintha.

Since its previous funding round, the company said it has expanded its presence across 33 locations in Thailand.