Trevo, a peer-to-peer car-sharing platform by Socar Mobility Malaysia, announced that it is offering RM2 million in financial aid to 10,000 new hosts in the Klang Valley, Penang and Kota Kinabalu. This translates to an initial incentive of RM200 per host.
Trevo explains that the initiative is part of the first phase of the mobility startup’s Proof of Concept (POC) exercise that seeks to demonstrate the sustainability of P2P car-sharing in Malaysia. This is in line with the Malaysian government’s effort to mitigate the financial challenges faced by the people through its Penjana (Short Term Economic Recovery) plan.
According to the company, the cash aid will be channelled over two months to new hosts that sign up with Trevo and make their cars available for booking at least 14 days every month. The aid is open to Malaysians who own cars less than 12 years of age as of 31 December 2020.
Launched back in February, Trevo is like an Airbnb for cars where it connects users (guests) and car owners (hosts). The platform allows guests to book any car that fits their mobility needs while enabling hosts to earn some extra income to offset the cost of owning a car.
The announcement of the financial aid was made during the launch of the Trevo Lighthouse Activation Centre in Bangsar and was officiated by the Transport Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, Socar Mobility Malaysia’s CEO Leon Foong and Trevo general manager Susan Teoh.
Speaking during the launch, the minister said the government appreciates efforts like Trevo’s RM2 million investment in their financial aid program. “The social investment and the POC are a good showcase of Private-Public Partnerships, where businesses can partner with the government in improving the economy in relevant segments,” said Dr Wee.
Socar Mobility Malaysia’s Foong said he was excited with Trevo’s partnership with the government to introduce the benefits of P2P car sharing to more Malaysians and accelerate the growth of the sharing economy by incentivising car owners to list their cars on Trevo.
“This year has presented many challenges to Malaysians and we see people are struggling with income uncertainties while having to shoulder the burden of paying off their monthly expenses such as car maintenance, insurance renewals and loan repayments,” the CEO added.
Foong said he hopes more Malaysians will embrace the opportunity to use Trevo as a way to take control of their financial situation and start using their underutilised vehicles to generate supplementary income for them.
Trevo claims that car owners would be able to supplement up to 85% of their car loans by just sharing their car on Trevo for at least 10 days every month. Hosts are empowered to choose their own pricing as long as it falls within the pricing band provided by the Trevo algorithm.
“Our ultimate aim is to empower a safe and efficient car sharing marketplace, so our POC exercise will closely examine factors such as insurance coverage and claims needs, onboarding screening efficiency, regulatory licensing frameworks, post reservation customer support and other opportunities,” said Trevo’s general manager.
Trevo said it currently has more than 70,000 members and more than 1,500 car listings. It states it has a selection that ranges from more than 150 models from 30 automakers, with cars ranging from Perodua Axia and Myvi up to Porsche, BMW, and more.
To sign up as a Host or Guest, simply download the Trevo app for iOS or Android or head over to Trevo’s official website.
Hosts can also sign up with the referral code MOTxTREVO to earn the MYR200 Financial Aid. For more information about the Financial Aid, head over to trevo.my/trevo-financial-aid.
