Mobility platforms target high-value customer segments

South Korea’s leading mobility platforms are focusing on tailored transportation services for foreign tourists and business clients as a key strategy to overcome the stagnation in the taxi hailing and car-sharing markets.

Kakao Mobility currently dominates the taxi-hailing service market, while Socar holds a similar position in the car-sharing market, with the duo commanding around 90 percent of their respective markets. The companies are turning their attention to premium vehicle services to overcome the limited customer demand.

Uber Taxi CEO Song Jin-woo held a press conference on Tuesday, where he announced the official launch of the premium taxi service ‘Uber Black’ targeting corporate employees and foreign visitors who require special transportation. Uber Black features luxury sedans, SUVs, and large limos driven by experienced, specially trained drivers with a history of safe driving. Although the fare is about twice that of regular taxis, the service is expected to attract high-end clients, including corporate executives and tourists. Uber Black is currently available in Seoul and at Incheon Airport, with plans to gradually expand the service area.

Song emphasized the company’s growth since renaming its service from ‘UT’ to Uber Taxi in February 2024, noting a double-digit monthly user increase and record-breaking performance every month since. UT, the operator of Uber Taxi, is a joint venture formed in April 2021 by SK square’s subsidiary T Map Mobility (which operates the T Map navigation service) and global ride-sharing service Uber. Uber holds a 51 percent stake in UT while T Map Mobility holds 49 percent.

UT has recently focused on attracting new customers by leveraging Uber’s strong brand recognition and restructuring its services. T Map Mobility is also negotiating with Uber to sell its stake in UT, according to the investment banking industry.

For its part, Kakao Mobility is aiming to strengthen its existing position and explore new avenues. It launched its ‘K-Ride’ service in June 2024, a dedicated mobility platform for foreign users that allows them to use KakaoT taxi-hailing services in 14 countries, including the United States, Japan, Singapore, and China without language barriers. Kakao Mobility plans to expand K-Ride services to about 30 countries by the end of 2024.

VCNC, which operates ‘Tada,’ introduced a feature at the end of 2023 allowing users to hail Tada services via the easy payment platform Toss. Viva Republica, VCNC’s largest shareholder, also operates Toss. VCNC also recently improved the convenience of the Tada app by adding features including fare comparisons and reservation functions for customized transportation services for events such as weddings and golf outings.

Jinmobility, which operates the premium large taxi service i.M. Taxi in the metropolitan area, is preparing a cross-platform service in collaboration with Japan’s MK Taxi. The company aims to launch the service within the year while considering partnerships with local mobility platforms in Taiwan and Southeast Asia.