KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — In the space of past few weeks, three companies have entered the Malaysian e-hailing market — from foreign Bolt, the offshoot Lalamove Ride, and the electric vehicle-only (EV) GV Ride.

The three now face a very crowded industry, as there are nearly 30 other competitors aside from the popular Grab.

While 31 e-hailing services were registered with the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) in 2019, only eight made it to 2024 with 24 new players emerging in the market since then.

Of those that existed in 2019, only these survived: Grab, MyCar, Eevom, EzCab, Drive GTH, PICKnGO, Texspo Cab and JomRides.

However, not all the apps that made it to 2024 were popular. Malay Mail has a look at the current players:

The giant

Grab — This is the most popular app for e-hailing on the Google Play Store boasting over 100 million downloads and ranked first for free apps under the "Travel and Local” category.

Grab, which started in Malaysia in 2012 but has now relocated to Singapore, also has a foothold in now Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia.

Besides ride-hailing, it also offers food delivery, shopping, and digital payment services.

The competitors

• Bolt — Bolt is the top e-hailing service for free apps under the travel category in the Apple Store. Similarly, it is also top in Maps and Navigation category for free apps on the Google Play Store.
• inDrive — Entering the Malaysian market in 2021, this allows customers to set their own fares through a bidding system, is the fourth most downloaded ride-hailing app in Malaysia for 2023, the world’s second most downloaded ride-hailing app, its group president and deputy chief executive officer Mark Loughran told national news agency Bernama in July this year.
• Maxim — Maxim has over 50 million downloads and takes the top spot for the free apps in the "Auto and Vehicles” category.
• AirAsia Move — The second-most popular e-hailing app under the "Travel and Local” category in Google Play Store is the service by the low-cost carrier with over 10 million downloads, despite being launched only in 2021.

Similar to Grab, these apps also do not solely operate in Malaysia but across multiple countries.

The up-and-comings

• Lalamove Ride — Although only recently launched on November 12, this app has the advantage of its current customer base from its delivery and logistics services. It currently has 100 million downloads on the Google Play Store.
• Riding Pink — This e-hailing service featuring exclusively female drivers to ensure comfort and safety for women passengers, has over 50,000 downloads on the Google Play Store, despite being launched in 2016. It is still unregistered under APAD.
• Ryde — Also not registered under APAD, this is a Singaporean e-hailing app which also offers carpooling and delivery services. Ryde boasts over 500,000 downloads on Google Play Store.
• Kummute — Formerly Kumpool, this on-demand transit app has reached over 50,000 downloads on the Google Play Store since its launch in April of last year.
• MyRide — This emerging e-hailing platform is also rising the ranks as it bags over 10,000 downloads after its debut in March this year.

The small-fries

On the Google Play Store, Ez Cab has over 100,000 downloads. Eevom and JomRides each have more than 10,000 downloads.

Meanwhile, PICKnGO has over 1,000 downloads, Drive GTH has more than 500 downloads, and Texspo Cab has over 50 downloads.

Here is the full list of e-hailing companies in Malaysia: