Share Now, which had promoted "50% discounts," is simplifying its pricing structure. The core change involves shifting from a model that displayed high rental rates with large discount coupons to reduce final payment amounts, to one where listed prices are adjusted to closely match actual usage fees. While the company claims this improves the complex fee calculation system, concerns are also raised that it may gradually reduce coupons to achieve price increases.
According to Share Now on the 19th, changes to vehicle rental rates and coupon discount systems will take effect starting next month. Previously, Share Now offered 40–50% discount coupons on high listed rental rates to lower final payment amounts. For example, if a customer previously paid 10,000 won after applying a 50% discount coupon to a listed rate of 20,000 won, they will now see the listed rate reduced to 12,500 won with a 20% discount coupon issued. In this case, the consumer's actual payment remains 10,000 won, but the deceptive effect of setting prices high and then offering large discounts is minimized.
Share Now will also restructure its B2B (business-to-business) subscription products. The new subscription plans include: △Basic (3% discount on weekends and weekdays), △Plus (10% discount on weekdays, 3% on weekends). There are no usage limits, but the total discount rate including overlapping discounts is capped at 35%.
Existing corporate subscription products were structured as: △Standard (45% discount on weekdays, 40% on weekends), △Business Discount (60% on weekdays, 55% on weekends), △Welfare Discount (60% on weekdays, 55% on weekends). The Business Discount plan had a monthly usage limit of up to five times.
Industry consensus holds that as Share Now has effectively become the sole operator in the car-sharing market, there is no longer a need to maintain its early-stage "high discount rate" marketing strategy. The company aims to increase usage rates through intuitive pricing rather than fueling consumer confusion. In the second quarter of this year, Share Now reported an operating profit of 6.8 billion won on a consolidated basis, marking eight consecutive quarters of operating profits.
However, some critics argue that this restructuring lays the groundwork for price increases. While the company has maintained actual payment amounts to account for potential consumer backlash, it may attempt price hikes in the future by eliminating coupons or gradually increasing listed prices. This move is interpreted as strengthening Share Now's pricing power.
A Share Now representative stated, "This is not a trick to reduce discount benefits or raise fees, but a simplification policy that reflects the discounts embedded in coupons into the base rental cost." They added, "We expect platform usage rates and reservation conversion rates to increase significantly due to improved price transparency."
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