Ride-hailing apps have entered a new race – developing all-in-one apps.
After two years of operation in Vietnam, GoViet has been officially replaced by Gojek. Users now need to install the new app – Gojek.
Gojek made its debut in Indonesia in 2010, becoming the first super unicorn in Indonesia and the second in Southeast Asia, according to Global Unicorn Club.
When planning to penetrating Vietnam, its first foreign market, in 2018, Gojek decided to develop the GoViet brand and GoViet app specifically for the Vietnamese market. But now Gojek has replaced GoViet.
It seems that Gojek did not have a good presence on its first day in Vietnam. Many clients complained that they could not enjoy the promotions of the company. They also were not satisfied because Gojek set the automatic area code of + 62 (for Indonesia) instead of + 84 (for Vietnam).
Many clients gave ‘1 star’ to the app on iOS and Android app stores.
However, analysts believe that Gojek, with its green uniform, will be a big rival to Grab, a major player in the field which also uses green uniforms.
A report from ABI Research shows that Grab is leading the Vietnamese market in the number of trips completed. Grab holds 73 percent of market share, while GoViet ranks third with 10 percent of market share.
Besides Grab, Gojek will also have to compete with Be. The app provides two major services – BeBike (hailing motorbikes) and BeCar (hailing cars). Be plans to be in 15 cities and provinces by 2019 and 63 cities and provinces by the end of 2020.
As of the end of 2019, Be had 110,000 drivers and 6.6 million app downloads.
The Vietnamese ride-hailing market is believed to have great potential, but all players still have to ‘bleed money’ to develop. According to ABI Research, big losses have forced players to cut operation costs and raised questions about the sustainable development of e-hailing apps.
Expanding market share and cutting costs are not enough for sustainable development, so companies have to expand their business in other fields.
Grab, for example, also delivers goods, ships food, and provides shopping services and a series of other services on the same app.
Be has launched a new service, beTaxi, with two options for passengers – 4-seat and 7-seat cars. The service is the result of cooperation between beGroup and Vinataxi, the oldest taxi firm in Vietnam.
They have also developed their own e-wallets, and have also worked with e-wallets to establish special ecosystems. Grab has Moca, while Fastgo has Vimo.
This article was originally published in VNA