Self-driving cars 'lie down' waiting for customers during the holidays
(Baonghean.vn) - The complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic have caused the self-drive car rental service during the April 30 - May 1 holiday this year to continue to fall into a gloomy and sluggish situation.
Stroll around the streets ofVinh CityAt this time, it is not difficult to see images of self-driving cars lying on sidewalks and roads due to the lack of renters.
Mr. Nguyen Van Khanh, owner of a self-drive car rental business in Vinh City, said: "After a year of being heavily affected by the epidemic,Covid-19, after Tet, I renovated and upgraded 12 cars of my shop to serve the holiday of April 30 - May 1, however, by April 29, only 5 cars were rented, very unsold...".
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| Self-driving cars are parked on Nguyen Sy Sach Street (Vinh City) during the holiday due to lack of customers. Photo: Nguyen Chau |
Not only Mr. Khanh but also many self-drive car rental establishments are in this situation. It is known that most of the places have prepared for this year's holiday, but by the end of April 2021, the Covid-19 epidemic broke out strongly in many neighboring countries and spread in the community in some provinces and cities in the country, so the number of car rental customers decreased sharply. Many people who had intended to rent a car before had to "cancel the deal".
Ms. Mai, the owner of a car rental business, sighed: "Before April 25, more than half of the cars in the lot had been contacted by customers to rent, however, as the holiday approached, more and more people called to cancel their rental contracts and accept losing their deposits. On holidays, many people have time off, we still have to open the shop in the hope that someone will rent, but the situation is not very optimistic...".
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| Rental cars are thoroughly washed by staff to ensure safety during the epidemic season. Photo: Nguyen Chau |
Faced with the sluggish situation, car rental locations have simultaneously implemented manysolutionTo attract customers, in addition to increasing promotion on social networking sites, many establishments also apply rental price reductions. According to a survey, the daily car rental price has now decreased from 100,000 - 300,000 VND/day depending on the car model and number of seats. If customers rent for a long time, they will enjoy more incentives.
Along with reducing rental prices, self-drive car rental establishments are also proactively providing disinfectants and sanitizers so that customers can feel secure when renting cars during the epidemic season.