Wheely Ltd., commonly known as Wheely, is a multinational ride-hailing company which allows users to book chauffeur-driven journeys in a luxury vehicle either on-demand or in advance as reservations. Its services are accessed through its applications for mobile devices on the Android and iOSoperating systems. The company's headquarters is in London, and it also operates in Moscow, Paris and St. Petersburg. Wheely was founded in 2010 by Anton Chirkunov and was originally based in Zurich, Vienna and Amsterdam. In early 2020, it had 110 million annually in bookings, as well as a total passenger base of 80,000 customers. In 2014, Wired listed Wheely as one of the "hottest" startups in Moscow; The Financial Times in March 2019 ranked Wheely 835th on the 2019 edition of its annual list of the 1,000 fastest-growing companies in Europe.
History
Anton Chirkunov, who continues to serve as CEO, began working on the app in 2010. Wheely initially launched in Zürich, Vienna, and Amsterdam. The company debuted a prototype taxi aggregator service in London in 2012. Chirkunov signed contracts with private hire companies to provide drivers and Toyota Prius vehicles. However, Wheely struggled to compete with other private hire taxi and courier companies, forcing Chirkunov to change his business model. In Russia, the service also launched in 2012, with Chirkunov focusing on the luxury market for on-demand and pre-booked ride-hailing services. The company launched in Saint Petersburg in 2013, and in Kazan, Perm, Sochi, and Yekaterinburg in 2014. Following the business model that had been successful in Russia, Wheely relaunched as a luxury ride-hailing service in London in 2018, starting with a soft launch in February and becoming fully operational in June. In April, Wheely had 150 professional chauffeurs driving E-Class and S-ClassMercedes-Benz vehicles in London, and the company paid £150,000 to renew its license to operate between 101 and 500 driver-owned vehicles until 2023. There were approximately 2,500 Wheely drivers by mid 2018, including 200 in London. The company's headquarters were relocated from Moscow to London in 2019, ahead of Brexit and a planned expansion in Europe. Wheely launched in Paris in September 2019, coinciding with Paris Fashion Week.
Business model
The company's business model focuses on the luxury ride-hailing market. Wheely markets its services to wealthier riders looking for a more personalized, premium service. It has a time and distance based pricing model for journeys and does not use "surge pricing". Drivers are "third-party partners" of Wheely, not employees; the company contracts with individual professional chauffeurs and chauffeur companies. All drivers are required to have at least three years of previous chauffeur experience and must pass driving, geography, and etiquette tests. Wheely requires drivers to use vehicles that are no more than three years old. The company earns 20 percent from each ride.
Services
Wheely's mobile app is available for the iOS and Android operating systems. To use the service, an individual must download the app, create a user profile and enter their credit card details. Users can book rides in advance or on-demand by using the app to enter starting location and destination. The company has three service classes which use Mercedes-Benz's E-Class, S-Class, and V-Class models, respectively; additionally, Maybach models are used in Russia, as of 2019. There are minimum fees for each class, and final service fees are dependent on distance and time; fixed rates are available for transfers to and from major airports such as Heathrow and Gatwick. The ride-hailing services are available in seven Russian cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as London and Paris, as of 2020.
Corporate affairs
Wheely is based in London and has between 3,000 and 3,500 chauffeurs, as of April 2019. The company received 110 million in annualized gross bookings by February 2020. Wheely's office in Mayfair had 12 employees, as of April 2019. The company was previously based in Moscow. As of 2018, Chirkunov owned 59.6% of the shares in Wheely.
Investments
Chirkunov initially invested 2.5 million in the company, most of which came from friends and family. Wheely won a 25,000 grant from Start Fellows initiative, which was established by Pavel Durov and Yuri Milner. Wheely also received a grant of from the Russian governmental non-profitable organization :ru:Фонд содействия развитию малых форм предприятий в научно-технической сфере|The Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises in Science and Technology. Total investments in Wheely grew to 13 million in 2018. The company raised 15 million in a Series B round led by the venture capital firm Concentric in 2019. Wheely had raised 28 million from investors, as of 2020.
