Türkiye’s leading mobility app, Marti Technologies offers multiple transportation services to its riders.
The company has launched a ride hailing service that matches riders with drivers traveling in the same direction and operates a large fleet of e-mopeds, e-bikes, and e-scooters.
In a quick chat with Aishwarya, Marti’s spokesperson discussed about company’s vision for developing Türkiye’s first local ride hailing service and, overall regional trends in mobility.
What are Marti Technologies latest services that set them apart from their competitors in mobility segment?
Marti is the number one travel app in Türkiye. We now offer services across different vehicle types including ride hailing, e-mopeds, e-bikes, and e-scooters, making us a one-stop shop for all mobility needs.
Currently, we offer affordable transportation with last-mile connectivity complementary to long-distance transport, providing timing flexibility with on-demand booking and the ability to pick-up and drop-off anywhere. Our vehicle designs are tailored to local topography and weather, providing environmentally friendly and socially distanced travel solutions.
Marti is the only mobility company in Türkiye that offers transportation in 4 different modalities. We scaled quickly and have 58% market share. We are the sole player offering ride hailing and e-bikes in Turkey, and have market leading positions in e-mopeds and e-scooters.
Mention any key challenges the company faced in the development of its mobility Super App?
With a population of 85 million and a growing middle class, Türkiye represents one of the fastest-evolving mobility ecosystems in the region. Today, mobility is in high demand in Türkiye due to factors that include but are not limited to: Insufficient public transportation options, limited taxi penetration, heavy traffic, and high costs of private car ownership. Also, Türkiye is the only G-20 economy without a mobility super app. Leading local mobility super apps in the G20 emerging economies such as Indonesia, Brazil, and India have achieved substantial valuations attributed to a combination of demand and comparably higher costs of alternative transportation. In contrast, Turkey stands as an underserved market, boasting a substantial population. Our primary focus lies in Istanbul, the largest city in Europe, and we also extend our operations to several of Turkey’s major cities, which surpass the populations of well-known European urban centers.
We believe there is still substantial room for growth and opportunities in the market as we continue to create value and provide mobility solutions that enhance the lives of people. Our objective is to enhance the convenience, efficiency, and accessibility of transportation, thereby contributing to the overall comfort and seamlessness of individuals’ daily routines.
Amid the recent talks on Marti’s debut in NYSE listing, share your views on this development.
Marti is the first Turkish company to go public via special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) on the New York Stock Exchange American (NYSE), and the first Turkish company to go public on the NYSE in under five years of its incorporation. We are excited to complete this milestone. Our listing on NYSE reflects our impressive evolution and track record of performance, which are testaments to the hard work put in by our dedicated employees.
We believe going public will positively impact our future by increasing our visibility and providing more fund-raising options to support our growth. As a public company, we’ll proactively engage with potential investors to present our business case, growth potential, and unique value proposition. We are focusing on optimizing our financial resources, implementing effective cost management strategies, and prioritizing investments that align with our growth strategy to achieve financial sustainability.
Becoming a public company is an important milestone for us, and a testimony to our dedication and hard work over the years. Looking ahead, we are enthusiastic and unwavering in our mission to contribute to more sustainable solutions, better cities, and more convenience for our customers and we look forward to our new journey as a NYSE-listed company.
As every industry is bidding big on sustainability and carbon neutrality, tell us about Marti’s stance on this matter and any key initiatives you have taken to inculcate SDG initiatives?
Marti’s creation was motivated by sustainability. Back in 2018, with a desire to build sustainability solutions in one of the world’s most congested cities, Marti was founded in Istanbul by leveraging recently introduced electric vehicles.
Since then, Marti has been committed to providing environmentally friendly shared transportation and facilitating a strong sustainability and governance setup with social commitment.
Going forward, we plan to continue to grow our existing urban transportation services, introduce additional forms of environmentally sustainable mobility services that are electric and/or shared, and leverage our existing scale and customer base to offer adjacent, tech-enabled services beyond transportation.
How has been the Merger process of Galata Acquisition Corp. with Marti Technologies. With this transition, how the company believes to enrich as it is known to be listed in NYSE American.
Marti is committed to innovation and continuous improvement. Our priority is to upgrade the transportation industry by introducing new modes of service. The successful business combination and listing will give Marti resources to strengthen its market-leading position in Türkiye.
We believe that we have developed a foundation for long-term growth and success, and with support from Galata, Marti will be better equipped to capitalize on its competitive value drivers:
- Differentiated, Vertically Integrated Business Model
- Clear Market Leader
- Highly Attractive Addressable Market.
- High Customer Retention, Reinforced by Scale
- Strong ESG Fundamentals
Kindly tell our readers about Marti’s ride-hailing services and the current landscape of Turkey’s electric vehicle segment?
Marti’s ride-hailing services:
We introduced our ride hailing service that connects passengers with drivers traveling in the same direction in October 2022. We offer a range of prices on which riders and drivers agree on in advance of the ride. While we have been offering our ride hailing services without charging any fees for the time being, our monetization plans are in the pipeline.
Our main strategic objective centers around providing exceptional service across all of our offerings. Through our ride hailing service, we prioritize scaling our operations and aspire to provide a transportation solution that addresses the challenges faced in Türkiye.
We are focused on expanding our user base and refining our service offerings. As we continue to scale, we are actively working on optimizing our cost structure to align with our long-term monetization strategy. Our aim is to position ourselves as the local provider with an in-depth understanding of the customer base and their preferences. Our local presence allows us to provide a highly localized and customer-centric experience. We understand the unique needs of our customers and can tailor our services, marketing initiatives, and customer support to cater to their preferences effectively.
Current landscape of Turkey’s electric vehicle segment:
E-vehicles for the Turkish market are different from those produced in the U.S and the European Union. This is due to purchasing power and labor market differences. Western markets, with more expensive labor costs, require higher end and higher cost scooters.
Moreover, the rapid environmental degradation is one of the major issues in Türkiye which creates rising demand for electric vehicle market.
What is the company’s upcoming expansion plans?
Our goal is to make transportation more convenient, efficient, and accessible, contributing to the overall ease and convenience of individuals’ daily lives. We are committed to delivering innovative solutions that address the evolving needs of our customers and contributing to the advancement of mobility as a whole.
In the foreseeable future, we will be focusing on the Turkish market. In 2022, we launched operations at subscale in several cities where we made charging station, infrastructure, and personnel investments with the goal of ramping up our fleet. In addition to our fleet expansion, we are committed to investing in our ride hailing business. By continuing to invest in our business and introducing innovative services, we are positioning ourselves for future success.