SINGAPORE – Transport giant ComfortDelGro (CDG) is investing US$2 million (S$2.7 million) in Drive lah, a peer-to-peer car sharing business that was founded in Singapore and expanded to Australia.
This contribution from CDG forms the bulk of the US$5 million funding the car sharing platform raised in the first half of 2023.
The funding is slated for Drive lah’s expansion in Australia and the in-house development of the connected car technology.
The operation in Australia, known as Drive mate, was started in 2021 and currently has around 500 vehicles on the platform, with 5,000 active users.
CDG will also progressively supply up to 3,000 vehicles for the platform’s operation in Australia as the car sharing platform’s fleet partner, starting with Sydney and Melbourne in the coming months. The vehicles are owned by CDG and are not part of the investment. The rental revenue from these vehicles will be shared between CDG and the platform.
According to Drive lah co-founder Gaurav Singhal, these vehicles will mostly be cars that are between three and four years old. Such vehicles are deemed more viable than new ones, which are costlier.
Drive lah vehicles are rented through the platform on an hourly, daily, weekly or for longer periods.
Mr Gaurav stressed that the platform does not own any vehicles. Instead, the fleet consists of vehicles from private owners and leasing companies.
In Singapore, Drive lah is operating under an exemption granted by the Land Transport Authority to match private car owners to hirers. Without this permission, private car owners are not allowed to rent out their cars, except on weekends and public holidays. The current licence is valid until March 31, 2024.
So far, Drive lah has been successful in getting this special permission since it started operations in 2019. The exemption has been extended four times so far, with the latest given in April.
Car-sharing operators like GetGo and Shariot do not need such an exemption because the vehicles used are registered as private-hire cars.
In Drive lah, vehicle owners set the terms for the rental, including rates and conditions. Drive lah takes a commission for matching the vehicles to hirers.
Drive lah said that in Singapore, it has about 1,700 vehicles – a mix of cars and commercial vehicles – and around 40,000 active users who have used the service at least once.
During the rental, the vehicles are covered by comprehensive and third-party motor insurance through Tokio Marine and NTUC Income, so the owner’s own motor insurance policy is not affected.
Some of the vehicles listed on Drive lah can also be used to provide ride-hailing service like Grab and Gojek, rather than only for private use. For these rides, Drive lah said that hirers will rely on the relevant commercial insurance coverage of the vehicle owners.
CDG’s investment in Drive lah is the latest in the company’s spate of automotive-related ventures. In July, it was reported that CDG will be appointing dealers in Singapore to sell electric commercial vehicles by Chinese manufacturer ChangAn KuaYue, with an initial target of 100 units by end-2024.
