Demand for SG’s Car Rental Services Surges as Chinese New Year Approaches

The car rental and car-sharing industry is seeing an upward trend despite the recent increase in prices as the Chinese New Year is fast approaching.

Several companies said they have seen an increase in demand for their services, with one saying they are fully booked on the first day of the Lunar New Year period on Jan. 22, The Straits Times reported on Jan. 17.

About 90% of hybrid and electric vehicles have been reserved from Jan. 21-24, according to GetGo Chief Marketing Officer and Co-founder Johnson Lim. The islandwide car-sharing company owns more than 2,000 vehicles in over 1,300 locations in the city-state.

Another car rental company, Ace Drive, told The Straits Times that 35% of its 240 vehicles were rented out from Jan. 18-27. Thirty-three percent of the bookings were rental packages for seven days and the remaining ones were for the five-day rental, with the two packages reserved between Jan. 18 and 20.

The high demand for car rental services was due to various factors, including the current high certificate of entitlement (COE) and loan interest rates that have deterred Singaporeans from buying cars, as well as the easing of COVID-19 measures and the opening of the Malaysian border.