Struggling to Find Customers for Self-Drive Car Rental Service this Year-End

The number of self-drive car rentals has decreased significantly compared to the previous year. Photo: Hoang Tuan.

From the end of 2022, the self-drive car rental market in Vietnam seemed to be returning to its vibrant state due to high rental prices. However, by the end of this year, the situation has become even more difficult as many self-drive car rental businesses have had to significantly reduce their prices, but still have no customers.

“Struggling” to find customers

Sharing with Tri Thuc – ZNews, Mr. Le Tuan Anh, the owner of Hi Car, a car rental company, said that this is the first year the company’s self-drive car rental business has encountered such difficulties. Normally, around mid-December of the previous year, self-drive car rental businesses were already “sold out” and had no cars available.

“In previous years, the end of the year was usually the peak time as the number of customers increased significantly. However, this year the number of people looking to rent cars for travel or visiting family during the Christmas holidays has decreased significantly,” Mr. Tuan Anh shared.

According to the owner of this rental business, in order to meet customer demands, the company has implemented many discount programs and reduced prices for self-drive car rental services. However, the number of customers still did not increase as expected.

There are still many cars available despite the upcoming holiday season. Photo: Dan Thanh.

“The company has offered many promotions to support customers, especially for long-term rentals, which receive deeper discounts. Depending on each car model, the discount rates will vary to suit customers’ economic situation and needs. However, the number of people looking to rent cars during this period is actually lower than previous years,” Mr. Tuan Anh added.

Not only specialized self-drive car rental companies, but individual car owners on various platforms are also facing the same situation with a lack of customers. Mr. Van Minh (Ho Chi Minh City), the owner of a 2020 Hyundai Accent, said that despite the upcoming holiday season, his car is still available from December 30 to January 1, even though he has posted online on various platforms and rental applications.

“In previous years, around mid-December, the Accent was almost fully booked for travel and family visits. However, this year, despite the reduced rental price on the application, only 800,000 VND per day, there are still very few customers. I have to post additional advertisements on personal social media to attract more renters,” Mr. Minh said.

According to many people, in addition to the difficult economic situation, the timing and schedule of the holidays this year are also major obstacles that have caused customers to prioritize other options instead of self-drive car rental services.

“This year, January 1 falls on a Monday, so most employees only have one day off. Previously, there were still many people who had to work on weekends, making it difficult to arrange long-distance trips,” Minh Lam (Binh Thanh, Ho Chi Minh City) shared with Tri Thuc – ZNews.

Deep price cuts

According to the reporter’s research, beloved SUV models for rental customers such as Mazda CX-5 or Hyundai Santa Fe during the Christmas season are priced at only 1.5-1.8 million VND per day. Meanwhile, in previous years, the rental cost for these cars reached 2-2.2 million VND per day.

The daily rental prices for small sedan models have also significantly decreased compared to the same period last year. Specifically, the Kia Morning is currently being offered at many rental agencies for 700,000 VND per day, while last year, the rental price for this small car ranged from 800,000 VND to 900,000 VND per day. The Toyota Vios is currently available for rent at 900,000 VND per day, lower than last year’s price range of 1,000,000 VND to 1,100,000 VND per day.

On a car rental application, the rental prices for self-drive cars have also shown signs of increase but not significantly different from last year. The 2020 Hyundai Kona on the application has a rental price of around one million VND during the Christmas season, a 20% increase compared to regular days. After adding a 6.5% service fee, customers only have to pay around 1.2 million VND per day.

The daily rental costs on a car rental application.

Last year, the rental prices on this application during the holiday season usually increased by 30-50%, pushing the rental prices of most SUVs to over 1.8 million VND per day. However, even though rental prices have decreased in most places, users are not particularly interested in traveling during this Christmas season.

Duc Cuong (26 years old, Ho Chi Minh City) said that this year he plans not to rent a self-drive car for a trip with his friends as usual. Every year, Cuong and his group of friends from university usually spend a few million dong to rent a car and go camping together. However, this year, the group of friends decided to organize a small party in Ho Chi Minh City to save costs.

“The economy is more difficult this year, so it’s a waste to spend a few million dong to rent a car for travel. We can cook our own meals and rent a homestay to gather, which is already fun. Initially, I inquired about rental prices from various places, and while the prices have decreased, they were not convincing enough,” Duc Cuong added.

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