Competitor analysis Meru vs Uber

1. Introduction to the
Company
UpGrad Product Management
Competitor Analysis
Student Name: Narendra A

2. 2
Competitor Analysis
Meru Cabs Vs Uber Cabs

3. Competitor Analysis
Competitor Identification
Company Background
Business Model
Strengths and Weaknesses
Product Analysis
Future Initiatives
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4. Competitor Identification
Direct Competition
• Meru carbs has direct competition
with Ola, Uber, unorganized intra
and intercity cabs and auto
rickshaws
Indirect Competition
Qucik Ride
Ride sharing(pooling) for corporate
ZoomCar
Self driving car rental & subscription
service
BlaBla
Inter city car pooling connected service
Yulu
Bycycle renting service
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5. Company Background
Founders & CEO City World Presense Estd Valuation Revenue(IN)
Meru
Neeraj Gupta
Nilesh Sangoi(CEO)
Mubai India 2007 USD 1B(2022) 319Cr(216)
Uber
Garrett Camp
Travis Kalanick
Dara Khosrowshahi(CEO)
SanFransisco
,CA,USA
63 Countries 2009 USD 11B(2018) 533CR(2018)
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Investors Employees Fleet size Operating cities Market Share India
Meru True North 500-1000 20,000 24 0.8%
Uber
Softbank(16.3%)
Benchmark Capitol
partners(11%)
Garrett Camp(6%)
Travis Kalanick(8.6%)
22,000 3.9 Million 700+ 39.6%

6. Company Background – Mission and Goal
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Mission - To give urban commuters in India a world-class travelling experience, by
using a technology that has evolved in developed over the past 20 years
Goal- To be considered the first choice of land transport solutions in India.
Mission - We ignite opportunity by setting the world in motion. Good things
happen when people can move, whether across town or towards their dreams.
Opportunities appear, open up, become reality. What started as a way to tap a
button to get a ride has led to billions of moments of human connection as people
go all kinds of places in all kinds of ways with the help of our technology.
Goal - Uber’s mission is to bring transportation — for everyone, everywhere.

7. Company Background – Strategy
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• Built brand image as the No.1 airport taxi and most reliable for solo woman passengers
• Improved employee stickiness by providing incentives like loans, insurance and
scholarships for them and their families
• Expanding to Tier2/3 cities slow and steadily
• Renewing strategy to provide customized solutions for B2B clients
• Customer friendly initiative can book cabs via call center
• No Surge pricing, fixed pricing everyday even throughout the peak hours
• No cancellation policy is user friendly
• Earning revenue through “Cabvertisements”
• Always kept focus on being an online platform for aggregation and reach
• Customised car manufacturing for Uber gives an edge
• Providing drivers with very attractive and lucrative monetary incentive schemes
• Heavily investing money in future proof tech like driver less cars, air taxis etc.
• Renewing other offering thru Uber eats
• Always technology focused to provide solutions to the customers
• No non sense call center policy
• Focus is on crating comprehensive ecosystem for drivers and passengers
• Pay by cash mode for Indian consumers

8. Company Background – Funding
Series Funded By Date Amount
Initial India Value fund March 2015 $50 M
First Series Bennet Coleman
and co ltd
June 2016 $25 M
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Note: Uber entered
IPO in May 2019

9. Company Background – Products offered
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• Radio Taxi, Sedan, Hatchback and SUV.
• One-way and Round Trips, Local, Rental and Outstation rides
• Ride cashless or with cash. It’s your wish
• UberX, UberPool, XL, Select, Bikes, Lux, SUV, Scooters, Auto
• Ride cashless or with cash(India). It’s your wish

10. Company Background – Social Media
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• Google trends shows Uber is far ahead of Meru

11. Business Model - Meru
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Inventory Model(Old) Revenue Sharing model(New)
• In2007, Meru launched with the
Inventory model of owning the
cab fleet
• Cabs were bought from car
manufacturers on an EMI
• Cab drivers were to pay a fixed
amount to Meru everyday.
(Rs1200 appx)
• Cab drivers were promised at
least 25 assignments a day
• Anything above the per day fee
was the income of the cab driver
• Meru would consume cost of
petrol, maintenance and
overheads
• In2012, Meru moved away from
Inventory Model
• Meru on boards driver
entrepreneurs that owned their
own cars or ready for leasing
• Drivers share 15 –20% of their
revenue with Meru
• It is drivers choice to choose
when and how long they work
Reason for Shift:
• The Inventory model required a huge
initial investment
• Drivers had to pay the Per day fee even
when they were on a leave
• During vehicle downtime, the drivers
would loose ride time and yet have to pay
the per day fee
• This created a lot of discomfort with most
Meru drivers and hence Meru decided to
shift the business model
• The new business model is more scalable
and viable
• Operated in 24 Cities with5 different types
of products and more than 20,000 cabs
completed 12M rides

12. Business Model - Uber
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Revenue Sharing model(Old) Part Inventory Model(New)
• Uber started with the simple
revenue model of tying up with
drivers and small cab rental firms
• Basic model of ‘X%’ commission
from the total fare of the trip
ranges from 15% to 20%
depending on city and type of
vehicle
• Every driver gets an incentive on
every 12 to 14 rides of Rs.500-
750 based on city and type of
vehicle(which is discontinued
after controversy changed)
• Uber leasing policy to promote
owners
• Drivers can lease a car for an
initial deposit and then make
monthly lease payments with an
option to own the vehicle after
three years
Reason for Shift:
• To build exclusivity with drivers and
discourage drivers going to rivals
• Better loyalty of drivers towards the brand
to ward off those drivers who used to be
on both
• 91M active monthly platform consumers
and 3.9M drivers
• 10 billion trips completed
• 700+ cities in 63 countries
• 14M trips each day

13. Business Model – Revenue Model
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• Trip based commissions
• Security Deposits of leased out cars from existing
owned fleet.
• Cabvertisements : In and on-cab ads turns out to be
successful generating Rs10 Crore with in a year of
launch
• Trip Based Commissions
• Corporate Tie Ups / Event Tie Ups
• Vehicle On-Boarding Fee
• In-Cab Advertisements
• Peak Time Charges
• Diversification in cab offerings
• Uber Eats

14. Business Model – Revenue Model
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Strengths:
• First radio taxi provider
• Cost effective. No surge pricing
• Only aggregator to actually be making a profit
• Leading in advanced booking space
• Very advanced back-end technology
• Drivers loyalty is high due to awareness
Weakness:
• Present only in 24 cities
• Not a large cab fleet compared to competition
• Brand awareness and promotions are less among
competition
• Attracting low funding
• High training costs
• Widespread marketing of the brand. High customer
awareness
• Present in 700+ cities across 63 countries
• New products and features for every segment of the
customer base
• Huge cab fleet ensures high cab availability
• Investing in new and future ready technology
• Innovative idea with Uber Eats and Air taxi
Weakness:
• High surge prices
• Huge investment but no profits due to other
priorities/investments in future tech
• Drivers are usually signed up with rivals to benefit
from the surge pricing
• Decreasing incentives affecting cab drives behaviors
with customers

15. Business Model – Revenue Model
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Specifics iOS Android iOs Android
App Downloads NA 1M+ NA 100M+
App Rating 2.8 3+
App Reviews More than 50% are
1 Star
Majority are 4 and 5
Star
80% are 5 Star 80% are 5 Star
Download Size 48MB 11MB 382MB Varies with device
Basic Features Book, track cabs and get notifications, ICE ,
pay through4 different wallets
See availability, book and track cabs and
get notified, recharge wallet, SOS
New Features Drivers can choose at what fare they can
offer ride
Share the trip and location suggestions
App User
Experience
Not fast and smooth experience as Uber,
Availability is an issue.
Launch of app is very quick with accurate
GPS location

16. Future Initiatives
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• Concentrating on B2B segment by providing
customized solutions for companies
• Book cab directly from google maps
• Plans to expand beyond 31 cities in India
• Partnership with other car manufacturers in
developing self-driving cars
• Focus on generating profits from new revenue
generating schemes

17. References
https://www.meru.in/media-centre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uber
https://www.uber.com/en-IN/newsroom/company-info/
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/meru-rides-to-marketplace-to-catch-up-with-its-
rivals/articleshow/63309737.cms
https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/uber-plans-to-expand-in-india/1337915/
Google and iOS app store
https://www.meru.in/about-us/our-philosophy
https://inc42.com/buzz/amidst-competition-from-ola-and-uber-meru-cabs-drivers-will-decide-fares/
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