Ponycar

What Ponycar does

PonyCar is a Shenzhen-based electric vehicle time-share rental platform operated by Shenzhen Letu Hui Technology Co., Ltd. (深圳市乐途汇科技有限公司), founded in October 2016 and launched commercially in November 2016. The company operates an all-electric shared fleet across four Chinese cities — Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing, and Xi'an — accessed through a self-serve mobile app and a WeChat public account. Customers locate, reserve, unlock, and return vehicles at designated station nodes managed in partnership with property and parking-space owners; the platform covers the full rental cycle digitally without staff intervention and offers 24/7 customer support and emergency rescue.

The core product is short-duration time-share rental priced from 0.22 CNY/minute plus 0.99 CNY/kilometer, with premium variants such as the BMW i3 at 0.8 CNY/minute (60-minute minimum) and prepaid daily, weekly, and monthly packages starting at 149, 970, and 3,360 CNY respectively. The fleet spans 2-seat models (Zhido D2S, Chery EQ1) and 5-seat models (Changan Yidong, JAC IEV6E, BAIC series, BMW i3), all automatic transmission. Beyond per-use rental fees, revenue is generated through membership deposits (refundable subject to violations), mandatory maintenance service fees, pickup/return service fees, insurance increment fees, and vehicle damage and accelerated depreciation charges.

PonyCar's go-to-market combines product-led growth via the app and WeChat with a city partner channel that recruits enterprises and individuals with parking assets as station node providers, enabling capital-light geographic expansion. The company reports having served over 1.5 million registered users and nearly 1 million active users as of June 2018, and claimed #1 market share among shared car platforms in South China by April 2018. Total disclosed funding reached approximately 450 million CNY across an angel round (50M, February 2017), Series B (150M, June 2017), and Series C (250M, June 2017), with strategic OEM partnerships piloted in 2018 and an autonomous driving exploration partnership with AutoX.

Name

Ponycar

Legal name

深圳市乐途汇科技有限公司

Website

https://iponycar.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

PonyCar operates a self-serve electric vehicle time-share rental platform across four Chinese cities (Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing, Xi'an), serving individual urban commuters through a mobile app and WeChat public account with per-minute, per-kilometer, and package-based pricing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric Vehicle Sharing

NAICS

Passenger Car Rental (532111), Passenger Car Rental and Leasing (53211)

SIC

Services-Auto Rental & Leasing (No Drivers) (7510)

akta.pro primary industry

EV Car Sharing (Round-Trip & Free-Floating) (THADANAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

EV Passenger Vehicle Leasing (Cars/SUVs) (TLABAAAH), Round-Trip Carsharing (Station-Based) (TLAFAMAA)

Keywords

• Electric vehicle sharing
• EV time-share rental
• Shared mobility platform
• Car sharing service
• Urban micro-mobility

Headquarters

HQ city

Shenzhen

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Time + Mileage Rental Fees: Core revenue from charging users based on duration of use (per minute) plus distance traveled (per kilometer). Pricing varies by vehicle model, time slot (peak vs. off-peak), and day of week. This is a consumption-based, pay-as-you-go model.
2. Package Rentals (Daily/Weekly/Monthly): Prepaid fixed-duration rental packages offering unlimited mileage at discounted rates compared to per-minute billing. Daily packages from 149 CNY, weekly from 970 CNY, monthly from 3,360 CNY. Provides revenue predictability.
3. Membership Deposit: Members pay a deposit upon registration which can be returned upon account closure if no violations or outstanding fees. Deposit serves as both a financial safeguard and a revenue float.
4. Ancillary Service Fees: Additional revenue streams from pickup/return service fees at certain stations, maintenance service fees, vehicle damage charges, traffic violation processing fees, insurance deductible excess fees, vehicle accelerated depreciation fees, and other penalty charges.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

PonyCar operates an electric vehicle (EV) time-sharing rental platform that allows individual users to locate, reserve, unlock, and pay for shared electric vehicles via a mobile app or WeChat public account. Users pick up and return vehicles at designated network stations across cities, billed by time and distance or via fixed-duration packages (daily/weekly/monthly). The fleet consists entirely of automatic-transmission new energy electric cars, including models such as Zhido D2S, Chery EQ1, Changan Yidong, and BMW i3.

Product overview

PonyCar is a unified electric vehicle time-sharing sharing platform operated by Shenzhen Letu Hui Technology Co., Ltd. The platform offers two core service modules: time-share rental (分时租车) for short-term per-minute use and long-term rental (长租服务) for extended periods including daily, weekly, and monthly packages. Users access the platform through the PonyCar mobile app and WeChat public account to locate vehicles, book, unlock, and pay. The service operates across multiple cities including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing, and Xi'an, with a fleet of electric vehicle models including Zhido D2S, Chery EQ1, Changan Yidong, Jianghuai IEV6E, BAIC series, BMW i3, and others. The platform provides 24-hour customer service and emergency rescue services to support users throughout the rental experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• PonyCar Mobile App Native iOS/Android application for individual consumers to locate nearby EVs on a map, reserve, remotely unlock, drive, return, and pay — covering the full self-serve rental cycle.
• PonyCar WeChat Public Account / Mini-Program WeChat-based access point enabling users to register, complete real-name authentication, search for vehicles, make reservations, and complete payment inside the WeChat ecosystem without installing a separate app.
• Time-Share Rental (分时租车) Short-term electric vehicle rental billed per minute and per kilometer (starting from 0.22 CNY/min + 0.99 CNY/km), with pickup and return at designated network stations. Weekend and peak-hour rates apply, and is targeted at individual urban commuters.
• Long-Term Rental Packages (长租服务) Prepaid fixed-duration rental packages with unlimited mileage at discounted rates — daily from 149 CNY, weekly from 970 CNY, monthly from 3,360 CNY — for users needing multi-day access without per-minute billing.
• Zhido D2S (知豆D2S)

Quantifiable outcome

• Carbon reduction exceeding 70% compared to fuel vehicles
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered strategic and major.

• Multiple Host Vehicle Manufacturers (多家主机厂商)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2018In August 2018, PonyCar entered strategic cooperation with multiple automotive manufacturers to pilot new joint-operation models, exploring a 'shared mobility platform + vehicle OEM' co-management approach. This enabled access to diverse vehicle models and potentially more favorable fleet acquisition terms.
• AuotXstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2018PonyCar partnered with AuotX in May 2018 to jointly launch a 'Future Mobility Lab' (未来出行实验室), exploring autonomous driving and advanced mobility technologies for shared vehicles.
• 深圳市软件产业园基地 (Shenzhen Software Industrial Park Base)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2017Exclusive cooperation signed on March 24, 2017 with Shenzhen Bay Company. Initial deployment of 30 vehicles with plans to expand to over 1,000 vehicles. This partnership provided access to a captive user base of tech industry professionals.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EVCARD: EVCARD is China's largest station-based EV carsharing platform, operated under SAIC Motor, and is the most direct competitor to PonyCar. Both deploy all-electric fleets with self-serve mobile app booking and city-station pickup/return models targeting urban commuters.
• GoFun出行: GoFun is a state-backed (Shouqi Group-affiliated) EV carsharing platform with nationwide footprint and significant fleet scale. Both PonyCar and GoFun operate station-based EV rental with mobile self-serve access and target Chinese urban commuters seeking an alternative to taxi or ride-hailing.
• Pand Auto (盼达用车): Pand Auto was a Chongqing-based EV carsharing platform that was among the most well-funded peer operators in China. PonyCar and Pand Auto are directly comparable on station-based EV rental model, Chinese tier-1 city focus, and capital-intensive fleet operations.

Broad incumbents

• Zipcar: Zipcar is the global category-defining carsharing platform now owned by Avis Budget Group, operating station-based vehicle sharing via mobile app. While Zipcar uses primarily ICE vehicles in the US rather than EV, the round-trip station rental model and self-serve digital UX are direct functional parallels to PonyCar's product.
• Car2Go / ReachNow (Share Now): Share Now was the Daimler-BMW carsharing JV (formerly car2go) offering free-floating and station-based EV and ICE carsharing in multiple cities. As a global carsharing pioneer with strong EV fleet programs, it compares to PonyCar on platform-driven urban mobility and station-based vehicle access.
• Didi Chuxing: Didi is China's dominant ride-hailing platform with growing EV fleet operations and autonomy investments. PonyCar competes for the same urban-mile consumer, and Didi's scale, EV-pivot strategy, and autonomous-vehicle ambition (via the AutoX-type ecosystem) make it the largest competitive and adjacent threat.

Regional players

• BlueSG (by Bolloré): BlueSG is Singapore's largest EV carsharing operator with a station-based model similar to PonyCar. Comparable as an Asia-Pacific EM peer demonstrating regulatory support for station-based EV sharing and the same operational economics of dense urban station networks.

Others

• Microvast (MVST) - shared mobility adjacencies: Turo is a peer-to-peer carsharing platform monetized via mobile app. While business model differs (asset-light marketplace vs PonyCar's owned-fleet operator), Turo is comparable on self-serve digital EV/vehicle rental flows and ancillary revenue streams, serving as a US reference case.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ponycar