South Korea-based car sharing start-up SoCar is expanding into Malaysia, its first move outside of its home base, where it had more than 6,000 registered cars and 3 million registered users at end-September.

The company’s app allows car owners to share their vehicles by enabling people to rent cars by the hour, with petrol and insurance coverage included.

SoCar, the largest player in Korea’s car sharing industry, said it plans to establish 120 zones with 240 vehicles in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, Yonhap News Agency reported. It said the rollout will be the first of additional launches in Southeast Asia in the next 24 months.

The company, which was set up in 2011, said it is licensed by Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture. It is advertising for numerous positions in Malaysia, including experienced executives and web developers.

SoCar set up a joint venture in Malaysia last May with SK Corp, which took a 20 per cent stake in the car-sharing firm in 2015, The Korea Herald reported. SK Networks, SK’s rental car service unit, signed a vehicle maintenance agreement with SoCar in February 2017.