Zoomcar Launches Unified App For Guests & Hosts To Offer Better Experience

Amid top deck exit and termination, Nasdaq-listed car rental company Zoomcar has rolled out a unified app to facilitate better car sharing experience for both guests and hosts.

Earlier Zoomcar operated two apps where, Zoomcar app was used by over 10 Mn guests to book a self drive car from a wide range of over 25,000 options and Zoomcar Host app used by the community of over 20,000 hosts who share their car on the app for rental purposes.

As per the company, the new app will house 10 feature upgrades on the platform. It will have access to features like “guest favourites” that will have a selection of frequently booked and highly rated cars by other guests.

Meanwhile the hosts will have more control on running their micro businesses.

Founded by Greg Moran and David Back in 2013, Zoomcar is a marketplace for renting self-driving cars. The startup connects hosts with guests, who choose from a selection of cars for use at affordable prices. 

With this new app, guests can effortlessly start their micro business as a Zoomcar Host, and hosts can seamlessly book a car as guests, all with just one app, the company said.

“We’ve been spending a lot of time listening & meeting with our hosts in the past few months and our unified app has been meticulously designed to provide far more controls to our hosts and encourage car sharing as a growing business in India” said Hiroshi Nishijima, chief executive at Zoomcar.

Additionally some other features would include flexibility to choose minimum booking duration, opt out of late night bookings. New Zoomcar hosts can now opt for installation of a GPS tracker and keyless entry device right after signing up on the app. 

Zoomcar reported improvement in their platform’s average trip rating to 4.66 on a 5 point scale along with an increase in net revenue by 12% from $8.83 Mn to $9.90 Mn, the company said in a statement.

In June, Zoomcar’s cofounder Greg Moran was terminated as CEO after a 12-year tenure.

Following that, Zoomcar’s global president Adarsh Menon quit the post within six months of his joining.

The Bengaluru-based startup started trading on the Nasdaq on December 29 last year, following a SPAC merger with Cayman Islands-registered Innovative International Acquisition Corp. 

Zoomcar’s net loss narrowed to $34.3 Mn in the year ended March 31, 2024 (FY24) from $62 Mn in the previous fiscal. The startup’s net revenue also increased 12.5% to about $9.9 Mn in FY24 from $8.8 Mn in the previous fiscal year.