“The demand for car rentals and road trips in China has really
surpassed our expectations,” says Ben Li, founder & CEO of Zuzuche.
Established in Guangzhou in 2011, Zuzuche was the first mobile platform
for Chinese tourists to rent a car overseas.
As Chinese outbound tourism diversified during the 2010s, so did
demand for car rentals. By the end of 2019, Zuzuche counted 30 million
cumulative users. The vast majority were Chinese tourists, as well as
Chinese living overseas and some international customers.
Shifts in self-drive demand mirrored changes across China’s outbound
market. “Up until 2016, our users were Chinese tourists aged 35-40,” Ben
Li says. “Between 2016 and 2019, when our business enjoyed rapid
development, the average age dropped below 30.”
Bespoke services for Chinese drivers
Before the pandemic, Zuzuche’s three biggest markets were North
America, Western Europe, and Australia and New Zealand. “But other
markets were developing quite fast, like Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore,
the UAE and Saudi Arabia, plus some Eastern Europe and Scandinavian
countries.”
Customer profiles varied. “In the newer markets, they were mostly
experienced travellers who wanted to explore new destinations by
themselves. In Southeast Asia, it was mostly younger travellers,” he
says.
We launched a Chinese driver license translation tool, as our driving licenses are in Chinese, and Chinese road mapping services, as we can’t use Google maps on our phones.
As its business grew, Zuzuche enhanced its customer engagement by
partnering with leading car rental suppliers worldwide, and by
developing tailored add-on services.
“We offered other services to support Chinese drivers overseas, as it
can be quite difficult in an unfamiliar country,” says Li. “We launched
a Chinese driver license translation tool, as our driving licenses are
in Chinese, and Chinese road mapping services, as we can’t use Google
maps on our phones.” Zuzuche also introduced customised insurance as
“Insurance can really be a headache for Chinese drivers.”

“In the newer markets, they were mostly experienced travellers who wanted to explore new destinations by themselves. In Southeast Asia, it was mostly younger travellers,” says Ben Li, founder & CEO of Zuzuche, on Chinese customer profiles.
A right turn from global to local
When the Covid-19 pandemic came, Li and his team had to put in place a
fast turnaround when Zuzuche’s Chinese customer base was stranded at
home.
“Before the pandemic, we counted 70% of the outbound Chinese
self-drive market, but we didn’t focus at all on the domestic market,”
he says. “It became obvious in the first quarter of 2020 that we had to
make a big decision as the outbound business stopped.”
Zuzuche redirected its resources into China. It adapted the
international mobile platform for Chinese drivers in their own country.
The ambitious goal was to offer car rental coverage in 600 cities across
China as quickly as possible.
“We were lucky that we had the software developed for our outbound
business which enabled Chinese suppliers to easily include their fleets
and services onto our system,” he says. “Within four months, we had
listed 3,000 Chinese car rental suppliers across China on our new
platform.”
Entering China’s domestic market was unplanned, but followed nine
years of rapid growth as independent travellers became more adventurous
while overseas. A growing desire to take control of their own
itineraries was paired with smartphone access to car-hire services
matching their needs. “More than 90% of our bookings by Chinese
customers are made on mobile devices,” he says.
More tourists hit the road in China
Domestic travel was patchy during China’s Covid-Zero era. A
combination of city lockdowns, government travel advisories and fear of
catching the virus dampened demand for long periods. Car rental bucked
the general trend, however.
“Even though the circumstances were very difficult for three years,
the demand for self-drive in China was beyond our imaginations,” says
Li. “Renting a car was seen as a safer, more cost-effective way to
travel.”
Zuzuche noticed divergences between domestic and outbound usage. “For
our overseas business, 80% of rental pick-ups and drop-offs are at
airports. In China, customers use a range of airports, rail stations and
downtown locations.”
EVs were becoming more popular for short-term rental in some European markets. Here and overseas, EVs will be a big growth market in the coming years.
Different vehicle preferences emerged, especially for EVs (electric
vehicles) and RVs (recreational vehicles). “EVs were becoming more
popular for short-term rental in some European markets. Here and
overseas, EVs will be a big growth market in the coming years,” says Li.
“RVs are not yet very popular in China, although we have some demand,
but they are popular in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada.”
Frequency of use also differs. “Our outbound data shows the annual
bookings are 2.6 per person. It’s much more frequent in China. We have
customers who book a car every week. A lot of young people don’t own a
car, so it suits their lifestyles to rent one on the weekend.”
Accelerating into a new era
With China open once again, Zuzuche is positioned to capture
self-drive demand at home and abroad. “We now have separate teams
managing the domestic and outbound markets,” says Li.
Zuzuche’s mobile distribution is boosted by a partnership with
Chinese OTA Fliggy, which broadens its reach among Chinese travellers.
“We are working with Fliggy on the domestic and outbound markets. We are
the only supplier of their outbound car rental products,” Li adds.
With travel activity growing, Zuzuche is now moving through the
gears, as its overseas car rental business has recovered to 56% of the
2019 level by May 2023.
“Overseas car rental is our biggest revenue earner, but it might take
two or three years to fully recover to the 2019 level,” he says.
“Meanwhile, our domestic business is still young, and there are a lot of
things we want to improve.”