Small rental car owner says he’s ‘making bank’ as high COE prices push Singaporeans to rent

SINGAPORE: A small car rental business owner is “making bank” renting out his four cars daily. He said all his vehicles are fully paid in cash, so there are no loans to pay for either.

“My cars are fully booked every time. Covers the cost and makes me a profit,” he said.

When asked how he handles damages and insurance, he said it’s inevitable that cars get banged up. “I don’t really mind. If I spot any damage, I’ll get it assessed and then discuss compensation openly with the culprit. Once they pay, I will go to JB and get it repaired at a reasonable price.”

He added that the only real pain is when a renter hits another vehicle and is clearly at fault.

“I have had one incident like that, and the end result was I lost my no claim bonus. Painful but whatever, I’m still making profit, so it’s okay.”

Rental cars in Singapore surged to a record 95,857 vehicles in 2025, making up nearly 15% of the city-state’s total car population, a 41 per cent jump from 67,990 rental cars in 2021.

Rental car owners can rent out their vehicles for private use or to drivers providing ride-hailing services.

The surge in the city-state’s rental car population came after car prices climbed amid higher certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums, The Straits Times reports.

Last year, the Category A COE for smaller, less powerful cars more than doubled its 2021 peak, reaching an all-time high of S$128,105. /TISG

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