Maple Leaf, which developed during the epidemic, has closed its pre-Series A round of funding. Other firms that raised funds recently include China Auto Rental, Zuzuche and On Time Mobility. A spate of financing events shows that venture funds are bullish on the smart travel market in China.
Car rental startup Maple Leaf (Chinese: 枫叶租车) has completed its pre-Series A round of funding worth tens of millions of CNY, led by New Margin Ventures, followed by Daohe Investment and other state-backed investors. The existing shareholder Junying Investment also participated in the deal.
The funds will be used to build the digital operation management system, to support brand building and to expand the brand and scale of the fleet.
“The car rental market in China is relatively dispersed, there’s no clear leader to form a monopoly or economies of scale. So there is chance for market segmentation,” says Zhu Yifan, partner and CFO of New Margin Ventures. “Scale, standardization and quality will be the major trend.”
He added that “I hope Maple Leaf Car Rental can stay committed to its original intention of becoming a high-quality travel service provider at home and abroad, promote the layout and development of the domestic car rental industry, and meet challenges of the industry in the new era.”
Maple Leaf Car Rental was founded in June 2019. Through a self-owned app and a collaborative platform, it provides short-term and long-term rental for individuals and enterprises, as well as customized rental services for customers.
Currently, Maple Leaf Car Rental has extended its services to more than 30 major cities and operated over 1,200 outlets. The startup owns more than 3,000 high-end luxury cars, over 65% of which are models from BBA (Benz, BMW, Audi). The fleet has been served for less than two years.