More and more ride-hailing services are entering the market despite the dominance of the pioneers Grab and Gojek, formerly known as GoViet.

The ride-hailing service market in Vietnam is becoming more competitive
with new entrants coming in steadily. (Photo: vietnamnet.vn)

Local firm VISERVICE Application Development Joint Stock Company Vietnamese launched viApp earlier this month, with both taximeters and the usual fixed fares commonly offered by ride-hailing services.

Customers can also flag viApp vehicles on the road just like traditional taxis and motorbike taxis and book rides without mentioning a destination beforehand.

InDriver, the Russian ride-hailing service now in more than 30 countries, was launched in September in Da Nang, Hai Phong, Can Tho, and Hue cities.

It uses a real time deal model that allows customers to declare the fare they would like to pay, and drivers can accept the order or negotiate for a better fare.

Others offer attractive policies to their drivers such as MeGo not collecting fees from struggling drivers.

Hoang Quang Mạnh, director of GV Asia Joint Stock Company, which launched GV Taxi in July, said there are still opportunities in the ride-hailing market for late entrants if they have a good understanding of the market and offer reasonable fares.

A report by Google, Singaporean sovereign fund Temasek and US management consultancy Bain said the Vietnamese market could grow by 40% a year on average to US$4 billion by 2025.

According to a study by ABI Research, new entrants still have opportunities because demand growth remains high.

Nguyen Van Sang, general director of T.Net Joint Stock Company, which owns ride-hailing service T.Net, was quoted by Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper as saying though there are more and more new services, businesses with large market shares are barely impacted by them.

New entrants without deep pockets often have to be satisfied with smaller markets as opposed to large cities, he said, adding that many smaller players have withdrawn from the market.

Nguyen Huu Tuat, general director of Fastgo Joint Stock Company, said since the market is still affected by COVID-19, new entrants could struggle to grow and his company is not trying out new strategies at the moment either.

Customers’ behaviour could change rapidly, and so careful market research is important, he added.