SOCAR raised new investors EastBridge Partners & Sime Darby led US $55 M in Series B
SOCAR, a Malaysian car-sharing platform, announced today that it has secured up to US$55 million in a Series B investment round led by EastBridge Partners of South Korea and Malaysian multinational Sime Darby Berhad.
This is EastBridge Partners and Sime Darby’s first investment in SOCAR, with a valuation of US$213 million.
SOCAR now has a total of US$73 million in its bank account as a result of this fundraising round.
According to a press release, the investment will be split into two tranches, with 60% paid upfront and the remaining 40% paid out based on agreed-upon terms.
SOCAR intends to utilize the funds to support ongoing technological improvements, the implementation of clean mobility projects, and the expansion of its peer-to-peer car-sharing platform TREVO.
“We will utilise these funds to supercharge our vision of multiflex mobility and bring the convenience of car-sharing to more people across Southeast Asia. As countries move into new phases of post-COVID-19 recovery, we are committed to using our TREVO platform to create more economic opportunities for car owners while leveraging the supply of vehicles on our platform to remind consumers what it’s like to be free to travel again in the comfort of their own private space, in a vehicle of their choice,” said SOCAR CEO Leon Foong.
The firm is behind the car-sharing software SOCAR and the P2P car-sharing marketplace TREVO, which was launched in Malaysia in January 2018 as a joint venture between SK Inc and Socar Inc.
In February 2020, it completed a US $18 million Series A financing round. Eugene Private Equity Co. Ltd. and KH Energy Co. Ltd. are among the investors in this round of investment.
According to the firm, its SOCAR platform includes 2,200 automobiles in 36 distinct models in over 1,000 locations across Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor, Ipoh, and Melaka. On its TREVO platform, it presently has close to 6,400 automobile listings in Malaysia and Indonesia’s biggest cities.
Prior to this round of funding, SOCAR collaborated on the ‘Fund Your Drive’ initiative with Sime Darby Auto Selection (SDAS), a multi-brand used vehicle dealer under Sime Darby Motors.
