Self-drive rental car bookings witness surge for pre-festive road trips in August: Report

Self-drive car rental platforms such as Zoomcar, DriveU and Quickride are witnessing a surge in demand for pre-festive road trips, according to the insights shared by credit-based payment platform Simpl. The company suggested that bookings made on the merchant platform witnessed a two-fold rise in demand in August this year when compared to the same period last year.

Simpl’s insights revealed that Zoomcar was the most preferred choice by customers for self-drive rental vehicles in emerging markets, posting a 3x growth in transactions through the payment platform. Zoomcar received a 50 per cent increase in bookings across the country last month led by Tier-I markets including Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Tier II cities like Jaipur, Coimbatore and Vizag have also shown a healthy uptick in travel plans during the same period.

Commenting on the rise in bookings, Greg Moran, CEO and co-founder - Zoomcar, said, “As an organisation, we have a nuanced understanding of consumers’ evolving preferences and have been at the forefront of making available the widest selection of cars across each of our markets for their convenience. The onset of the festive season marked by several long weekends in August led to a sharp uptick in the demand for self-drive cars."

Commenting on the trend, Ashwini Ravindranath, Vice-President, Partner Success - Simpl, said, “In the midst of extended weekends and the surging pre-festive enthusiasm for road travel, our partner merchants are steadfast in their commitment to delivering unparalleled comfort to discerning travellers. At Simpl, we take immense pride in our pivotal role as facilitators, providing a seamless one-tap checkout experience that is not only effortless but also distinguished by its refinement. This marks a significant milestone for us in empowering our merchants to elevate each traveller's journey with poise and confidence, transforming every payment experience into an unforgettable one."

Simpl revealed that most bookings are consistently coming in between Thursday through Sunday, largely attributed to the long weekends. Furthermore, the data insights suggest that about 62 per cent of the self-drive rental car bookings are coming from users in the 21-30 age group, indicating that the younger demographic is more accepting of rental car platforms. Since Zoomcar and Simpl’s partnership in 2021, the former’s average ticket size has increased by 40 per cent.