Estonia-based ride-hailing company Bolt plans to invest 400 million baht in 2025 to expand its presence for a period of two years.
The company positions Thailand as a role model for growth in Southeast Asia.
"We will continue to invest in Thailand in 2025-2026 with the ambition to become one of the leaders in the ride-hailing market via both organic and inorganic growth strategies," said Nathadon Suksiritarnan, general manager of Bolt Thailand, in an interview with the Bangkok Post.
He did not specify the level of investment for 2026.
The company started charging a 15% commission fee on drivers in 2023, having previously not charged a fee since 2020.
"In the past year, we've invested 400 million baht to expand our city coverage from three cities to 13, and we offer attractive passenger fares that are at least 20% lower than those of our rivals," said Mr Nathadon.
He added that the company will continue the investment in order to penetrate the market more deeply.
Bolt has 1 million users, with 100,000 active users per day. The majority of users are young, particularly members of Gen Z.
The company will build greater brand awareness and expand to up to 20 cities next year, said Mr Nathadon.
In addition, the company focuses on safety features. Apart from criminal background checks and facial scans for drivers, passengers also have access to in-app emergency assistance and an audio recording feature for the duration of the trip.
Furthermore, the company aims to reduce safety incidents involving passengers to below 10% of the global average in the near future.
Mr Nathadon added that the ride-hailing market in Thailand is worth US$2.1 billion and is expected to continue growing at a compound annual growth rate of 10% over the next three years, with a year-on-year growth rate of 30%.
"Bolt itself has posted triple-digit growth and is expected to be profitable for the full years of 2023 and 2024," he said.
He also noted that overall ride-hailing market will mature once the total number of users in Thailand reaches 50% of the population.
The current number of ride-hailing users is estimated at 10 million of Thailand's 70 million people.
In addition to Malaysia, where Bolt launched the service this year, the Estonia-based company plans to expand further into the Philippines and Vietnam in 2025. This expansion will cater to travellers across the region, as well as in Europe and Africa.
Mr Nathadon believes there is still room to meet customer needs, despite the intensifying market competition.
"In the long term, we'll create a loyalty programme for the passengers," he added.
He also noted that the current economic situation has not yet impacted its business. However, if the government implements a 20-baht fare for all skytrain routes, it could affect the business.
Earlier, Transport Minister Suriya Junrungreangkit said that the government would like to see a 20-baht cap across all rail lines in Greater Bangkok by 2025.
