Smove, the Singapore-based startup that brings eco-friendly cars and car-sharing schemes to passengers looking to get around the country, has announced it has raised US$1.1M in funding.
The pitch was led by Rebright Partners, and with contributions by 500 Startups, Wavemaker Pacific, and five unnamed investors. The company will use the funding to increase its fleet of vehicles.
Smove cars being charged at an electric charging station
Takeshi Ebihara of Rebright Partners said to Tech in Asia, “The global trend towards a sharing economy has seen cities in Europe and the US deploy car-sharing services very successfully. We see this trend hitting Southeast Asian cities, too. And Smove has demonstrated this in Singapore.”
Smove, as detailed on the National Research Foundation website, was developed by Clean Mobility Singapore Pte Ltd . The company was also incubated by WaveMaker Labs, an incubator under NRF’s Technology Incubation Scheme and provides environmentally friendly mobility-on-demand (MOD). The “S” in Smove stands for Singapore move, Sustainable move or Smart move.
Back in 2012, Tech in Asia reported that Smove offered up three transport services:
- The electric automobile, for those who wanted to drive a car around to run errands.
- Shuttle service, for those looking to commute.
- Electric bikes, for the more fitness-minded. These were available for rent through a scheme that resembled the urban bike-sharing programs in London and other cities.
Image Credit: Tech in Asia
Smove has since removed the shuttle bus and the bikes from its fleet. After months of testing, founder Tom Lokenvitz and his teammates ultimately decided that the rental car model was most sustainable.
Lokenvitz explains, “We had a small fleet of electric cars. We didn’t need to do much marketing, people were just signing up and telling their friends. So we realized we hit a pain point in that segment.” The company has also changed its vehicle make to the Toyota Prius C.
Lokenvitz gives a narration of his motivation behind starting Smove in an interview with BBC News.
Also read: Selling your car in Singapore? DirectCars gives you the highest offer you can get.
In its current iteration, Smove lets Singaporeans book a car online through its website. Customers can pick up vehicles at one of several designated locations around the city, or a Smove employee will personally deliver the car to a specific location for S$8 (US$6.40). Drivers can unlock vehicles and verify their identity using their personal EZ-Link metro cards.
Image Credit: Smove
The company’s website stated that charges are S$20 hourly, S$90 for 12-hour periods and S$130 for 24-hour usage. “Basically, because cars are so expensive to own in Singapore, we’re a middle ground between the Uber or GrabTaxi kind of service, and the classical rental car businesses,” Lokenvitz further elaborated.
Image Credit: Smove
The company’s fleet consists of 17 vehicles at the moment, and Lokenvitz hopes to increase that number to 100 by this time next year.
There will probably be 100 of these running on the roads at this time next year.
There will probably be 100 of these running on roads at this time next year
A recent study by Eco-Business found that car sharing has recently emerged as a popular form of alternative transport for urban commuters globally. This is especially so in space-constrained cities where the cost of transportation is high.
For Singapore, the popularity of car-sharing has grown due to increasing congestion. Due to its compact nature and relative small size, this makes electric vehicles conducive and a viable transportation option in the country. In support, the Singapore Government has also announced that it may involve car sharing schemes in further trials for electric vehicles in the city-state.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said on its website, that there are currently about 300 car sharing services in over 100 locations across the island.
Smove’s competitor, iCarsClub is Singapore’s largest private car rental and they have also managed to raise S$10 million in series A funding, as reported by Tech in Asia. The funds will be used to upgrade its fleet and services in both Singapore and Mainland China.
Unlike Smove, iCarsClub works entirely via the mobile app. Cars are located by proximity and the car is fitted with a special box that communicates with the app. Once located, the very same app allows access to the car being shared. Car owners who take part in this scheme, make money from their vehicles’ idle time.
Image Credit: iCarsClub
CarClub also operates on the same car-sharing scheme as iCarsClub with bookings and reservations accepted on both desktop and mobile app. The company has over 70 car stations and competitive pricing based on the renter’s frequency. A car rental could pay up to 30% less if $300 worth of value points are purchased and used over a period of four months. Car rental for a full day of use costs S$56 at the lowest tier, as stated on the website.
Image Credit: Google Play
Besides iCarClub and CarClub, Smove also faces stiff competition from traditional car rentals like Drive.SG. But with the Government’s support and increased awareness in reducing our carbon footprint, Smove has occupied a niche position by being the first company in Singapore to offer solely electric vehicles.
Even though it costs less to rent a petrol-fueled car, Smove’s Toyota Prius C hybrids is also gentle on your wallet when it runs on electric mode, which means lesser to almost no expenditure on gas! Sounds economical to me.
Also read: Tesla’s Model S, And Why Aren’t Our Cars Flying Yet?
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