Drive.SG

What Drive.SG does

Drive.SG, operating legally as Popular Rent A Car, is a Singapore-based car rental and car-sharing operator serving both individual consumers and corporate clients. The company offers four core service lines: personal self-drive rentals (saloons, MPVs, SUVs), corporate long-term rental and leasing programs, chauffeur services covering Singapore and West Malaysia, and commercial/EV rentals including vans, pick-ups, open-bed trucks, and Tesla vehicles. Founded as one of Singapore's first car-sharing operators through the 2003 launch of the Whizzcar sub-brand, Drive.SG grew from an initial fleet of 7 vehicles to roughly 400 owned vehicles over two decades.

The business operates an asset-heavy model: it owns and maintains its fleet, runs an in-house workshop to minimize downtime, and sells primarily through a direct-to-consumer website (popularcar.com), phone-based booking, live chat, and walk-in enquiries. Corporate customers are served through a dedicated enterprise sales motion targeting long-term leasing arrangements. In 2022, Popular Rent A Car officially joined the Tribecar family, expanding effective fleet access to 1,500+ vehicles under the 'PopularByTribecar' brand and integrating into a broader Singapore car-sharing platform. Marketing relies on the company website, Facebook, and direct phone/live chat channels rather than mobile apps or programmatic acquisition.

Revenue mechanics are largely subscription-style recurring rentals on the owned and network fleet (personal, corporate, commercial), with a smaller transaction-fee stream from chauffeur services. The company has raised approximately SGD 1.0M across two early rounds in 2013–2014, has 11–50 employees, and is led by founder Paul Tan. There is no disclosed proprietary technology stack, no AI/ML capabilities, no patents, and no public pricing tiers; competitive advantage rests on brand longevity, fleet scale, the Tribecar distribution network, and in-house maintenance rather than software differentiation.

Name

Drive.SG

Legal name

Popular Rent A Car

Website

https://drive.sg

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Drive.SG (Popular Rent A Car) is a Singapore-based car rental and car-sharing operator offering personal, corporate, commercial, and EV rentals plus chauffeur services across Singapore and West Malaysia. Founded in 2003, it owns roughly 400 vehicles and joined the Tribecar network in 2022.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Car Rental Services

NAICS

Passenger Car Rental (532111), Passenger Car Leasing (532112), Automotive Equipment Rental and Leasing (5321)

SIC

Services-Auto Rental & Leasing (No Drivers) (7510)

akta.pro primary industry

Self-Drive Car Rental (THADAAAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Chauffeur-Driven Car Rental (With Driver) (THADAAAG), Premium & Luxury Vehicle Leasing (TLABAAAF)

Keywords

• Car rental services
• Car sharing
• Vehicle leasing
• Chauffeur services
• Corporate fleet rental

Headquarters

HQ city

Singapore

HQ country

Singapore

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Personal Vehicle Rentals: Short-term rental of saloons, MPVs, and SUVs to individual customers for personal use. Revenue generated through daily/weekly rental fees.
2. Corporate Long-term Rentals: Long-term rental and leasing programs for organizations, providing vehicles for operational needs with flexible terms.
3. Chauffeur Services: Professional driver services for customers in Singapore and West Malaysia, charged per trip or hourly basis.
4. Commercial Vehicle Rentals: Rental of vans, pick-ups, open-bed trucks, and electric vehicles (including Tesla) for commercial and goods transportation purposes.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Drive.SG (operating as Popular Rent A Car) is a Singapore-based car rental and car-sharing company offering self-drive personal rentals (saloons, MPVs, SUVs), long-term corporate vehicle leasing, chauffeur services covering Singapore and West Malaysia, and commercial/electric vehicle rentals (vans, pick-ups, trucks, Tesla EVs). The company operates a fleet of 400 vehicles standalone and has access to 1,500+ vehicles through its 2022 integration with the Tribecar network.

Product overview

Popular Rent A Car operates as a single unified car rental service platform under the Tribecar family (acquired in 2022). The company offers four core service lines: Personal Rental for individual self-drive needs (saloons, MPVs, SUVs), Corporate Rental for business long-term leasing, Chauffeur Service for professional driver needs covering Singapore and West Malaysia, and Commercial/Electric Vehicles for goods transport (vans, pick-ups, trucks) and eco-friendly options (Tesla). The subsidiary brand Whizzcar represents their pioneering car-sharing offering launched in 2003, which now operates within the expanded Tribecar ecosystem providing over 1500 vehicles across their network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Whizzcar: Car sharing service launched in 2003, one of the first car-sharing platforms in Singapore.

Products and services

• Personal Rental Self-drive car rental service offering saloons, MPVs, and SUVs for individual customers in Singapore for personal transportation, family trips, and driving around the island.
• Corporate Rental Long-term vehicle rental and leasing programs designed for organizations to support business operations within budget constraints and provide cost-effective fleet management.
• Chauffeur Service Professional driver service providing safe and comfortable transportation in Singapore and to West Malaysia for individual and corporate clients, charged per trip or on an hourly basis.
• Commercial and Electric Vehicles Fleet of commercial vehicles including vans, pick-ups, and open-bed trucks for goods transportation, plus electric vehicles such as Tesla for eco-conscious customers seeking green transportation.
• Whizzcar Car Sharing Car-sharing service launched in 2003 as one of Singapore's first car-sharing platforms, allowing customers to rent vehicles on a short-term basis. Operates as a sub-brand within Drive.SG's portfolio under the Tribecar ecosystem.

Quantifiable outcome

• Enquiry response time: within 1 working day
• +1 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TribecarcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022In 2022, Popular Rent A Car (Drive.SG) officially joined the Tribecar family, enabling access to a wider network of 1500+ vehicles and greater variety of vehicle types. This partnership significantly expanded operational scale and geographic coverage, integrating Drive.SG's existing fleet with Tribecar's platform.
• WhizzcarminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerWhizzcar is a car-sharing brand launched by Popular Rent A Car in 2003, making them one of the first companies to introduce car-sharing in Singapore. Whizzcar operates as a branded car-sharing service within Drive.SG's portfolio.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tribecar: Singapore-based car-sharing platform and parent of Drive.SG since the 2022 integration. Operates an overlapping 1500+ vehicle peer-to-peer car-sharing network in Singapore and serves as the primary platform competitor in the same geography.
• BlueSG: Singapore's first large-scale electric car-sharing service, operating a fleet of EVs across the city-state. Directly comparable in car-sharing model and target use case (short-term urban mobility) and a key competitor in Singapore's EV rental segment where Drive.SG also operates.
• GetGo: Singapore car-sharing platform backed by ComfortDelGro, offering app-based short-term vehicle rentals. Closely comparable to Whizzcar (Drive.SG's car-sharing sub-brand) in business model, target customer, and Singapore geography.
• Zipcar: Car-sharing pioneer operating self-serve short-term vehicle rentals, comparable to Whizzcar in core business model (car-sharing rather than traditional counter rental). Operates predominantly in North America/Europe but represents the same category globally.
• Share Now: Car-sharing service formed from the merger of car2go and DriveNow, offering app-based free-floating car rentals. Closely comparable in car-sharing business model and target use case (urban on-demand mobility), though operating primarily in European cities.

Broad incumbents

• Sixt: Global car rental incumbent with operations across Asia including Singapore. Overlaps with Drive.SG on traditional self-drive rentals but serves a much broader geography and customer base, including premium and corporate segments.
• Avis Budget Group: One of the world's largest car rental brands with Singapore airport and city locations. Competes with Drive.SG on personal and corporate rentals but as part of a global multi-brand portfolio rather than a Singapore-only niche operator.
• Hertz Global Holdings: Major global car rental company with Singapore presence serving both leisure and corporate customers. Comparable in traditional self-drive rental offering but operates at significantly larger scale and brand recognition globally.
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car: World's largest car rental company by fleet and revenue, with expanding Asia-Pacific operations. Competes with Drive.SG on personal and corporate rentals, particularly for longer-term leases, though at vastly larger scale and broader geographic footprint.

Emerging players

• Turo: Peer-to-peer car-sharing marketplace where private hosts rent out their own vehicles. Comparable in sharing-economy approach to car-sharing but distinct in being a marketplace model; relevant as a structural alternative competing for the same end-customer demand.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Drive.SG
• Xx.com/DriveSG
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/drivesg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Drive.SG