With zero funding raised, car-sharing marketplace Tribecar is profitable and growing

Owning a car is a luxury in Singapore: just ask actor Vin Diesel.

During a press tour for the 2013 summer blockbuster Fast & Furious 6, a reporter asked Diesel to guess the prices of various cars in Singapore. The actor was shocked by the going prices at the time. “US$154,000 for a Prius?” he exclaimed.

Aside from the basic car expense, owners in Singapore also have to afford a Certificate of Entitlement – costing tens of thousands of dollars – that allows them to own and operate a vehicle.

Photo credit: Tribecar

It’s one way the government is controlling vehicle population, and it seems to be working. According to the Land Transport Authority, private car ownership is at its third-lowest point since 2010.

Adrian Lee, co-founder of Tribecar, sees this as an opportunity.

Tribecar is a Singapore-based marketplace that connects vehicles from car rental firms with hirers. Founded in 2016, the startup now has about 350 cars in its fleet, making it one of the two biggest car-sharing companies in Singapore – the other being Smove, which has a comparable fleet size.

Sharing is caring

Taking public transport, hailing a taxi, or using private-hire services like Grab or Gojek are the usual alternatives to owning a car in Singapore. However, Lee believes that there is a car-sharing market for longer-term rentals. In this case, a longer term can mean a few hours to even a couple of days.

Take festive seasons like Chinese New Year, for example. Over the span of two weeks, families in Singapore typically travel to multiple locations around the country to visit relatives. While private-hire cars are available, they can be costly – especially when surge pricing kicks in. Public transport can also be a real hassle during those seasons.

Car-sharing services like Tribecar fill the niche by being a convenient, affordable option for commuters who need a car temporarily for an extended period of time.

According to Lee, there are many other use cases for car-sharing services, such as nights out with friends and family road trips. “We even have a member who rents from us every day from 5am to 6am to bring her husband to work,” Lee recalls.

Tribecar’s fleet is currently available at over 270 locations around Singapore. Users simply select the desired pickup date and time, the duration of the rental, and the type of vehicle they want. Tribecar then locates the nearest available one for hire.

Since everything is done via Tribecar’s mobile app Tribecar’s car-sharing service is available 24/7. Aside from cars, which take up about 70% of the entire fleet, Tribecar also offers motorcycles, lorries, and vans for personal and commercial use.

Multiple battlefronts

There are a handful of other car-sharing services in Singapore but convenience and pricing set Tribecar apart.

A little less ordinary

Expansion plans