Car-sharing firm GetGo offers no-deposit car leasing, starting at six months

The team behind car-sharing company GetGo in Singapore has introduced a long-term car rental service with no deposit required and a minimum period of six months – shorter than other long-term rental services.

Launched on Tuesday (Jul 29) under the name ZipZap, the service aims to bridge the gap between short-term and long-term car rentals.

“We saw a clear gap between short-term rentals and long-term ownership, and many drivers wanted something in between: consistent access to a personal car, without the stress of large upfront payments or being tied down for years,” said GetGo and ZipZap chief executive Toh Ting Feng.

In contrast to ZipZap, GetGo’s eponymous car-sharing platform offers short-term rentals from a minimum of one hour to a maximum of five days. With 400,000 subscribers, it is currently Singapore’s largest car-sharing provider.

Existing long-term car rental services typically have a 12-month minimum hire period and require a deposit, which is usually equivalent to one to two months of the rental cost. A small, mainstream sport utility vehicle (SUV) typically costs around S$2,000 per month.

When the leased car is sent for servicing or repairs, ZipZap users will be able to use a “courtesy car” in the meantime.

A range of new and used cars is available. The fleet has started with smaller hatchbacks and SUVs, such as the BMW X2, Suzuki Swift, Honda HR-V, and Hyundai Kona – with more models to be added based on demand.

ZipZap is also beta-testing an optional feature, “Subscribe and Share”, that will allow users to rent out their leased vehicles on the GetGo platform. Rental money earned will be deducted from the ZipZap subscription fees, and ZipZap will not charge platform fees on it.

“If you lease out your car to 20 people and they pay a S$20 fee, you will get S$400,” noted Toh.

Peer-to-peer car-sharing platform Drive Lah offers a similar Flex+ service, by which users can rent cars from each other for a minimum period of two months and with no deposit. Leased cars can also be rented to other users on Drive Lah’s platform, with a required minimum of four days a month.

As a peer-to-peer service, Drive Lah lists vehicles that are owned by individuals, rather than a company.

In its statement, ZipZip highlighted that, unlike peer-to-peer sharing services, it “owns and retains full operational oversight of every car”.

“Sharing only happens within our closed-loop, platform-managed system, where all cars are maintained, insured, and quality-controlled directly by us.”