A partnership is formed. Present at the Volkswagen-Socar event are (from left) Winter, Hicom Auto Sdn Bhd CEO Bojeng Bari and Foong.
PETALING JAYA: Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia is supplying a fleet of 50 Polo 1.6 for the Socar car-sharing service in the Klang Valley.
The first batch of 21 Polo cars have been delivered with the remaining 29 due by mid-May.
Socar is a car-sharing startup that launched here just three months ago. It aims to give people the convenience of driving a car without the commitment of owning one. Socar is a so-called multiflex mobility provider that began in South Korea and Malaysia is its first overseas expansion.
With its mobile application, Socar is able to make car-sharing convenient by allowing members to book and unlock cars on its platform with just a few taps. All cars on the Socar platform are keyless and prices are inclusive of petrol and insurance.
For May, the Polo is priced from RM13.90 per hour, which is inclusive of petrol and comprehensive
insurance.
The RM77,646 Polo 1.6 hatchback comes with a 1.6-litre 104hp petrol engine and a maximum torque of 153Nm from 3,800rpm. It uses a 6-speed automatic transmission with Tiptronic. Fuel consumption is rated at 6.3l/100km.
Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia managing director Erik Winter said the partnership with Socar "offers the public easy access to Volkswagen cars and have them enjoy its German-engineered capabilities."
The Socar app is available for download from the App Store and Google Play Store.
“The beauty of the car-sharing model is that as a member, you have several types of cars at your fingertips serving your different needs from a leisurely cruise out of the city to a trunk heavy trip to Ikea,” said Socar Malaysia CEO Leon Foong, who was previously Uber Malaysia general manager before the ride-hailing service pulled out of South-east Asia.
Foong said the current demographic of Socar users in Malaysia are in their mid-30s, who want to try new car models or are households that need to use a second or third car from time to time.
By the end of 2018, Socar Malaysia aims to grow its fleet to over a 1,000 cars. Other cars used in the fleet include MINI 3-door, Perodua Axia, Honda City and Honda HR-V. In South Korea, Socar has almost 9,000 cars now.
