“The number of trips in Cluj-Napoca and Bucharest (July – December) stood at more than 50,000, over 40,000 of which in Cluj. In 2017, we had more trips in Cluj-Napoca because we started in Bucharest with electric cars in July and added 10 cars with a very small coverage area,” Diana Otelea, chief financial officer of Pony Car Sharing, the operator of the GetPony service, told ZF.
GetPony lets smartphone users rent a car for a short time to travel throughout city. The GetPony mobile app enables users to search for an available car near their location, which they can book. When they get to the car, they unlock it via the app and can then drive it through the city and leave it at any legal parking place in the coverage area and then lock it via the app. The company started with a EUR600,000 investment and a fleet of 30 cars (25 Volkswagen UP and 5 Smart ForTwo), plus the mobile app enabling people to use the service.
“We have constantly invested in the development of the application (…). The total investment now stands at more than EUR1 million,” Diana Otelea said.
GetPony now has 110 cars, 60 of which in Cluj-Napoca and the rest in Bucharest. It has added Mini Cooper and BMW i3 electric cars to the existing Volkswagen UP and Smart ForTwo.
The revenue went up 50% in 2017 compared with 2016, when Pony Car Sharing posted more than 380,000 lei (EUR81,500) revenue, according to Finance Ministry data.
“PONY’s revenue is on the rise. We saw 50% growth in 2017 compared with 2016. There has been constant growth every month since we launched the service and it has been much higher since we entered Bucharest. Both the number of trips and revenue are going up month by month.”
GetPony seeks to double revenue this year, as it plans to increase the number of cars available in Bucharest and add a service for corporate users, most likely in May. (EUR1=RON4.6611)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)