Lotte Rental Company, a subsidiary of South Korea’s Lotte Group multi national conglomerate, announced plans to enter the Vietnamese car rental market in the second half of 2024.

The company was established as a business to business operation in Vietnam in 2007, called Lotte Rental (Vietnam), to supply commuter buses and short to long term vehicle rental services to international companies.

The company currently has 1,300 vehicles and branches in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang.

Lotte Rental plans to expand its fleet to 10,000 vehicles by 2028, by targeting the business to consumer long term vehicle rental market. The company said it had signed contracts with major local automobile dealerships to help it expand into this new segment, including Hyundai Thanh Cong, Toyota, Kim Lien Group (Mitsubishi) and Thaco Kia and Mazda.

Vietnam’s vehicle market has declined sharply in the last 18 months after an initial rebound from the pandemic lows, as local consumers struggled with higher interest rates and other living costs.