Singapore’s rental car population hit an all-time high in 2025, making up almost 15 per cent of the country’s total vehicle fleet.
RENTAL VS OWNERSHIP
Singapore rental car market has grown sharply, rising 41 per cent from its pandemic-era low in 2021. During the pandemic, there were 67,990 rental cars in Singapore as bidding was halted in 2020 and resumed the following year. In 2025, the government recorded 95,887 rental cars on Singapore round, representing nearly 1 in nearly every 7 vehicles nationwide. In contrast, private car ownership has continue to decline since 2021. The increase in Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums has been the main driver of the rental car surge and the decline of private cars. A Certificate of Entitlement allows Singaporean citizens to own and operate a vehicle for 10 years.
In October 2025, COE premiums, especially for Category A vehicles, hit a recordSGD 128,105 (AUD 143,859), while COEs for Category A vehicles, which are smaller cars, rose 29 per cent year-on-year. According to The Straits Times, Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) attributed the increase to the three-week gap between bidding periods.
RENTAL CARS IN SINGAPORE
An article by Vn Express International reported that longer-term vehicle rentals rose 40 per cent in 2025, driven largely by residents without their own vehicles. Most rental contracts ran for at least one-month, with an executive from Eurokars Leasing, saying more than half of customers were repeat renters.
Rental car companies in Singapore are also expanding towards the rent-to-own scheme—a program that allows the renter the option to purchase the rented vehicles after a year-long lease. As upfront costs climb, businesses are also turning to rental services for their fleets. Renting a vehicle allows both citizens and companies to reduce overall costs, like road tax, insurance, and general maintenance, with only fuel and rental fees needed.
“With car prices steadily increasing, we see that more individuals and companies are turning to longer-term rentals and leases as a way of owning a car without needing to fork out a big lump sum, and have a more convenient ownership experience,” the same executive said.
Though rental cars already comprise 15 per cent of Singapore’s total vehicle population, experts believe that popularity in rental cars will continue to rise. These conditions will persist if COE premiums also continue to increase in the future.
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