Intercity car rental service provider Savaari begins a transformative journey in the currently unorganized and fragmented inter-city cab rental market following the completion of a transaction in which MakeMyTrip acquired a majority stake. MakeMyTrip announced in its second quarter FY23-24 results that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority interest in Savaari Car Rentals Private Limited. Savaari will continue to operate as an independent entity led by the existing leadership team.
“All the formalities of the acquisition of the controlling stake are now complete. This acquisition marks a pivotal moment in the $3 billion-plus, yet largely unorganized, intercity market. We are now looking to transform this space by leveraging technology as well as deeper consumer understanding from MakeMyTrip. The timing of the acquisition couldn’t be better, as it coincides with the improved road infrastructure in the country and a wider acceptance among travellers to book intercity cab services online,” said Gaurav Aggarwal, Founder and CEO, Savaari Car Rentals
“The inter-city cab service remains largely offline, with low online penetration, fragmented supply, and a lack of standardization in service. We have encountered similar issues in intercity private bus transport where we now have a leadership position through redBus. With this majority stake in Savaari, we seek to extend that leadership to adjacent segments in ground transport,” said Rajesh Magow, Co-founder and Group CEO of MakeMyTrip. “The founding members and the leadership of Savaari have done an incredible job over the past few years in becoming the premier player in this category. Our endeavour now will be to further boost growth with our technology and consumer insights expertise. Prakash Sangam, CEO of redBus, will lead this initiative from the MMT group’s perspective and work closely with the leadership team of Savaari to scale this business to new heights.”
