Chungxe to fill up the carsharing gap

Mr. Hoang Hong Minh, Founder, CEO of Chungxe

Chungxe allows those who wish to hire self-drive vehicles (cars, motorbikes), can connect car hirers as well as car-idle individuals across the country through the website or App. Customers can search, compare rental prices, and rent a vehicle easily and quickly, said Mr. Hoang Hong Minh.

Mr. Minh shared: “Before founding Chungxe, I had spent over 12 years working for foreign companies, startups, and my own business. However, when setting up Chungxe, I realized my business passion. Despite many difficulties in my works, I have never wanted to give up my current job. The harder I fall, the stronger I rise”.

- What is your idea to set up Chungxe, sir?

The Chungxe aims at connecting people who have idle personal vehicles to those who need to rent a self-drive one. This idea started from my car being rarely used, felt wasteful, and needed to be rented out so that anyone who isn’t affordable to buy a car, can get access to this car. 

Around the world, carsharing apps are very popular. They have existed in the US, Turo, Zipcar... for tens of years. But in Vietnam, there are no such Apps yet, so I have embarked on a self-drive sharing project to fill up this gap.

- Self-drive car rental and sharing service abroad is quite popular, but it is still unpopular in Vietnam. Do you encounter many difficulties to provide this service?

Upon its birth, the Chungxe faced many difficulties, forcing us to transform our business model. We initially planned to implement a peer-to-peer carsharing model but encountered certain difficulties. Although we received many requests from car owners and customers, few deals were successfully done. Because car owners are afraid of the risks when renting a large property such as a car to strangers, while the car hirer appraisal is very difficult. That is also the reason why many startups felt difficult to apply this model in Vietnam.

- How is Chungxe operated, sir?

Chungxe has been oriented to be a tech startup in transportation, so we focus on solving problems in the direction of applying technologies combined with practical experience in this sector. 

Chungxe’s website and App were developed by basing on online booking technology to make car rental simple with just a few steps on a computer or smartphone.

In addition to helping partners reduce risks, Chungxe has also applied e-KYC (Know Your Customer) to identify and score car hirers to avoid bad actors who might mortgage the rented vehicles. The appraisal of car hirers through their transaction history will also help car owners have more grounds for rental.

Besides, we also equip car owners with fleet management systems, GPS, and IoT devices to help them manage their assets better.

Chungxe applied electronic car rental insurance by trip/day to help customers feel secure when renting a car as well as providing payment tools, uploading documents online, simplifying the deposit process…

Flexible car rental services such as weekday or weekend car rental have also been implemented by Chungxe to help customers meet their travel needs and save money.  

- What is the difference between Chungxe and other Apps on the market today?

Chungxe is also currently the only App in Vietnam for renting and sharing self-drive motorbikes and cars nationwide. We have more than 3,500 vehicles of all kinds, including motorbikes; 4 to 7-seater cars, pickup trucks, luxury cars... to provide customers with self-drive vehicle rental services in more than 40 major cities of Vietnam.

Besides, Chungxe is also a pioneer startup to invest in technologies to enhance the customer experience, and offer new utilities and services to those who want to rent and share self-drive cars.

We are redefining the self-drive car rental service in Vietnam in a way that is simpler, more economical, and safer for everyone.

- Did the COVID-19 pandemic affect Chungxe, sir?

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected many service businesses in general and Chungxe's self-drive car rental service in particular. However, with the experience from previous COVID-19 pandemic waves, we see the current outbreak as an opportunity to adapt even faster by releasing new products to help travel safely during the epidemic season. Specifically, we offer flexible subscription packages to save costs for customers. For customers who need a daily move for work, can choose a car rental package for 5 days a week or for those who need a car at the weekend, can sign up for a weekend package,..., saving 50% of the rental prices.

When public transport such as buses or taxi is limit ed amid the COVID-19 pandemic, self-drive cars will become the optimal choice of customers.

- What orientation do you have to make Chungxe stronger in the coming time?

Chungxe is oriented to be an App for self-drive car rental and sharing. Besides continuously investing in technologies to improve customer experience and simplify car rental procedures, we also continue to improve the car-sharing service by providing distinctive products on the market such as Drive pass, Time-sharing, or Membership/Car club…

To realize the above plan, fundraising and finding more strategic partners will be considered important factors to help Chungxe promote car sharing in Vietnam.

Thank you!