According to experts, the prospect looks promising as companies are looking to fill the void left by Uber while providing diverse options for passengers.
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One notable difference between Vato and Grab or Uber is the former's price bargaining feature (Vato set the minimum fare).
Besides, Vato currently sets the fare at VND8,500 (US$0.37) per kilometer and a 20% commission rate for drivers.
Mai Linh taxi company has also launched Mai Linh Bike app, with commission rate of 15%, 5% lower than the current rate being applied by GrabBike. The fare is set at VND11,000 (US$0.48) for the first two kilometers and then VND3,700 (US$0.16) per kilometer. Notably, Mai Linh Bike is committed to not increasinging fare in peak hours, said Ho Huy, Mai Linh's Board Chairman.
Aber app, which has been developed since 2015 by Vietnamese engineers in Europe, is another name recently introduced to Vietnamese passengers, requiring no commission fee from drivers.
Vietnam currently has some 10 ride-hailing apps with similar functions to Grab or Uber, according to the Ministry of Transport.
Besides, other foreign operators, such as Lalamove or Go-jek also eyes the Vietnam's ride hailing market, with the latter is recruiting Vietnamese staffs.
Grab on March 26 confirmed that it had acquired Uber's Southeast Asia operations for an undisclosed sum, but described as worth "several billion dollars" by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
This was just the latest international retreat by Uber, which sold off its operations in China in 2016 and in Russia in 2017.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) later conducted a preliminary investigation and found that the combined market share from economic concentration between Grab and Uber in Vietnam exceeded 50%, thus violating the Law on Competition.
For the lack of information in Grab's response, the MoIT urged Grab to provide more evidences and calculate accurately the exact combined market share of Grab and Uber in Vietnam, so that the company can comply with the Law on Competition.
