GrabCar, Uber fuel surge in rental car numbers in Singapore
12 Oct 2015|3,257 views
With the rise of ride-booking services like Uber and GrabCar, a lot more rental cars are now on the road, reported The Straits Times. Statistics from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) show that there were 24,573 rental cars as of August - a 38 percent jump from last year. At the end of 2013, the figure stood at 16,396; in 2012, it was 14,862.
Rental cars are defined as those leased out for personal use or for private chauffeuring purposes. For the first half of this year, there were 3,143 conversions to a private-hire classification - around 63 percent more than the 1,933 for the whole of last year, according to LTA figures.
Industry observers say it is likely that the private-hire group is driving the boom in rental car numbers, given the growth of Uber and GrabCar. Both are seen to be competing with taxis, leading the Government to announce this month a review on whether they have been competing fairly.
Mr. Peter Cheong, President of the Vehicle Rental Association, said, "If we are just looking at the population growth in the last 12 to 18 months, we are inclined to say that the apps-based model of limousine services has been the leading cause for the accelerated growth."
Mr. Chan Park, Uber's General Manager for South-east Asia and Strategy and Operations Lead, said drivers sign up as employees of the rental firms or set up a chauffeur business, and then rent the cars, which involves less upfront costs.
Not only has the number of rental cars gone up, but there are also more car rental companies now. Mr. Adrian Lee, Co-founder of online rental portal Drive.SG, estimates that there are now over 180 car rental companies, with 30 to 40 of them registered in the last year. Industry players believe many of the new firms are set up to serve the Uber and GrabCar market. Since they have little financial muscle to acquire new cars, they buy vehicles due to be scrapped and convert them from a personal-use classification to one for rental.
With the rise of ride-booking services like Uber and GrabCar, a lot more rental cars are now on the road, reported The Straits Times. Statistics from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) show that there were 24,573 rental cars as of August - a 38 percent jump from last year. At the end of 2013, the figure stood at 16,396; in 2012, it was 14,862.
Rental cars are defined as those leased out for personal use or for private chauffeuring purposes. For the first half of this year, there were 3,143 conversions to a private-hire classification - around 63 percent more than the 1,933 for the whole of last year, according to LTA figures.
Industry observers say it is likely that the private-hire group is driving the boom in rental car numbers, given the growth of Uber and GrabCar. Both are seen to be competing with taxis, leading the Government to announce this month a review on whether they have been competing fairly.
Mr. Peter Cheong, President of the Vehicle Rental Association, said, "If we are just looking at the population growth in the last 12 to 18 months, we are inclined to say that the apps-based model of limousine services has been the leading cause for the accelerated growth."
Mr. Chan Park, Uber's General Manager for South-east Asia and Strategy and Operations Lead, said drivers sign up as employees of the rental firms or set up a chauffeur business, and then rent the cars, which involves less upfront costs.
Not only has the number of rental cars gone up, but there are also more car rental companies now. Mr. Adrian Lee, Co-founder of online rental portal Drive.SG, estimates that there are now over 180 car rental companies, with 30 to 40 of them registered in the last year. Industry players believe many of the new firms are set up to serve the Uber and GrabCar market. Since they have little financial muscle to acquire new cars, they buy vehicles due to be scrapped and convert them from a personal-use classification to one for rental.
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