April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR]  Hyundai Motor, along with its financial arm Hyundai Capital, is expected to launch a new car-sharing service, called Delivery Car, next month, according to Maeil Business News on Aug. 7.

Unlike most existing car-sharing services that require users to pick up cars themselves, the Korean auto giant plans to bring the cars directly to the clients’ doorsteps. 

Customers book a car via the Delivery Car mobile app, following which Hyundai Capital, the operator of the mobile payment system, will contact a contracted car-rental company to send the car. Socar, a leading car-service here, also launched a similar car delivery service in June.

The report said the new service is likely to be priced higher than rivals due to the delivery service. Considering many car-sharing service users are price-sensitive young people, industry watchers say the higher pricing could make the Hyundai service less attractive. The carmaker reportedly plans to offer discounts for long-term users.

Quality control of cars is another issue. For the Hyundai service, rental companies manage the cars, while its competitors such as Socar and Greencar that purchase the cars in service directly control the condition of cars.

The report said Hyundai had to delay the service launch, originally scheduled for April, due to the quality control issues.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)