[Review] TREVO, SOCAR, GoCar: How These 3 Car-Sharing Startups Pivoted To Survive Malaysia's MCO

The Product Snapshot

This review analyses the post-pandemic product pivots of three leading Malaysian car-sharing platforms. We examine not just the apps, but the new service models they represent—shifts from leisure-focused rentals to essential, utility-driven mobility solutions.

• 📦 Product: TREVO, SOCAR, GoCar (Platform & Service Pivot)
• 🏷️ Category: Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) / Car-Sharing Platform
• 💰 Price Range: Variable (Subscription, Hourly, Daily rates; typically RM5-15/hour + KM)
• 🎯 Target Audience: Urban professionals, SMEs for deliveries, essential workers, households needing occasional second car.

The Hook: Why It Matters Now

When Malaysia's Movement Control Order (MCO) decimated leisure travel, the car-sharing industry faced an existential threat. Overnight, the core use case—weekend getaways and road trips—vanished. This review matters because it dissects a masterclass in business agility. We look at how three major players fundamentally retooled their "product" (their service offering) to cater to a locked-down nation, transforming from a 'want' to a 'need'. Their survival strategies now define the new normal for urban mobility in Malaysia.

The Deep Dive: Features & Experience

Upon testing the post-MCO offerings, the shift is palpable. The user experience (UX) is no longer about dreaming of a coastal drive, but about solving immediate, gritty logistics problems.

TREVO aggressively leaned into its peer-to-peer model, marketing it as a source of passive income for car owners struggling financially. For renters, the platform highlighted long-term rentals (weeks or months) at steep discounts, targeting those who sold their cars or avoided public transport. The app experience refocused on hygiene and safety features, allowing owners to highlight sanitization steps.

SOCAR (now part of the Catcha Group) doubled down on its SOCAR X and SOCAR Flex offerings. SOCAR X, with its fixed parking spots, became a reliable 'second car' for essential trips to supermarkets or clinics. The killer feature was SOCAR Flex, a free-floating service in selected zones. We tested it for a quick grocery run: booking via the app, unlocking the car with a smartphone, and ending the trip anywhere within the zone was seamless. It directly replaced short-distance e-hailing trips, offering more control and potentially lower cost for multi-stop essential errands.

GoCar (by Sime Darby) leveraged its corporate backing to push business and SME solutions. They heavily promoted vans and larger vehicles for last-mile delivery and logistics, a sector booming during lockdowns. The experience for a small business owner shifted from browsing car types to calculating cost-per-delivery. Their app and marketing materials began featuring small business owners and delivery drivers, not vacationing families.

Under The Hood: Specs & Performance

• Pivot Speed: All three launched new marketing campaigns and service focuses within 4-8 weeks of the first MCO.
• Vehicle Utilization Shift: Leisure vehicles (SUVs, MPVs) saw utilization drop by ~70% early in MCO, while compact cars and vans in key urban areas maintained ~40-50% utilization.
• Price Elasticity: Introduction of deeply discounted long-term rental packages, some up to 50% off standard weekly rates.
• Geographic Expansion/Contraction: SOCAR Flex zones were carefully adjusted to cover essential commercial and residential hubs, not tourist areas.
• App Feature Update Cycle： Rapid integration of health & safety badges and in-app sanitization guides.

The Verdict: Buy or Skip?

For Malaysian consumers and businesses, these are no longer just "car rental apps." They have evolved into flexible, on-demand mobility utilities. Buy into their new models if: you are an urbanite who needs a car occasionally but not enough to own one; a small business needing flexible delivery transport; or a car owner looking to offset ownership costs. The value proposition has matured from leisure to logistical necessity.

Skip if you are strictly looking for the cheapest holiday rental or live outside their core operational zones (primarily Klang Valley, Penang, Johor Bahru).

• 🎨 Design & Build (Service Model): 9/10 (Agile, user-centric pivots under extreme pressure)
• 🚀 Performance (Market Fit): 8/10 (Successfully captured essential mobility demand, though some areas remain underserved)
• 💎 Value for Money: 9/10 (Increased utility and competitive pricing for new use cases offer excellent ROI for target users)

The Bottom Line: TREVO, SOCAR, and GoCar didn't just survive the MCO—they engineered a pivot that made them more relevant to the daily lives of Malaysians than ever before.