Zooming into Southeast Asia! After riding into Vietnam, the India-based car rental startup Zoomcar is investing $25M to launch in the Philippines.

• It's committing $100M to expand in SEA over the next 2–3 years.
• It raised a $92M Series E last month and is active in India, Egypt and SEA.

Why it matters. The world's 35 emerging markets have less than 10% car ownership. (Most have under 5%!) A massive middle class can't afford their own cars — even if they need one from time to time.

🚀  Launch plan

It's kicking things off by launching in Metro Manila and will launch in Cebu and Davao by next year. (Manila folks, book a car here!)

• These are the top three largest urban areas of the Philippines.
• It is set to have 1,000 cars for rent by next month and 20,000 by the end of 2022.

⚙️  How it works

Want an SUV for road trips? Forget buying one. Rent a car for a month, week, day or hour. Zoomcar's got your back for every occasion— it's got sedans, SUVs, luxury cars and more.

• No driver included! Drive it yourself as if it were your own.
• With its Supermiler subscription, get your car delivered to your home, win discounts and access other perks.
• COVID worries? Get your car sanitized too.

🤫  The secret sauce

To build a fleet of thousands of cars, it partners with individuals who want to share their car as "Zoomcar Hosts" (Airbnb style) when they're not using it.

• Earn a fixed amount per hour and get paid by the week!
• Fill up a form, get it inspected, and start sharing your car in less than 24 hours.

It also partners with SMEs who own small fleets of cars to add to the thousands of cars for rent on its marketplace.

📅  Save the date

Zoomcar's hitting the road and expanding to over 20 countries over the next 18 months. It's also prepping to go public in a US IPO next year.

Extra Scoop: 4 thoughts on Zoomcar's SEA expansion from co-founder Greg Moran.