BlueSG disposes old EVs ahead of relaunch in 2026

[SINGAPORE] Ahead of its planned relaunch in 2026, car-sharing service BlueSG has disposed of its entire fleet of hundreds of electric vehicles (EVs).

The ubiquitous three-door Bluecar EV has been scrapped, while its larger five-door models have been sold to used car dealerships.

This follows the car-sharing service’s Aug 4 announcement that it was winding down its current operations for a major upgrade. Existing users were given refunds.

BlueSG chief executive Keith Kee told The Straits Times on Tuesday (Dec 16) that the company has finished disposing of its vehicles and is on track for its relaunch. He did not provide further details.

The short-term rental car-sharing service used two types of vehicles: the Bluecar, a three-door, four-seater model deployed since 2017 when BlueSG started, and the five-door Opel Corsa-e, introduced in 2022.

BlueSG did not say why the Bluecars were scrapped instead of being sold to car-sharing company Tribecar, as ST initially reported in August. A Tribecar spokesman, however, said that the Land Transport Authority (LTA) had blocked the transfer.

In response to queries, LTA said the Bluecars were registered under the EV Sharing Scheme and hence ownership could not be transferred for any purpose other than the electric car rental trial scheme.

This scheme by LTA and Economic Development Board (EDB) was announced in 2016. Then Transport Minister Khaw Boon Wan signed BlueSG, which was part of French Bollore Group, to operate an electric car fleet under the programme.

Tribecar, which in August promoted its leasing programme using the Bluecars, has since refunded deposits it collected.

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LTA records show that there were 692 of the three-door electric cars in Singapore as at the end of 2024, down from a peak of 791 in 2022. Some of the 194 Opel Corsa-e cars registered between 2022 and 2025 are also now on sale in the used market.

As at Dec 17, there were 41 cars listed on used-car selling website Sgcarmart. These have up to seven years or so remaining on their 10-year certificates of entitlement. Some show mileages of 90,000km – higher than around 50,000km for a private car of comparable age.

Ong Kheng Kwang, owner of Electric Vehicle SG, which specialises in selling EVs, told ST on Dec 17 that he had sold eight of the 10 Corsa-e hatchbacks that he acquired from BlueSG. He said that the cars’ battery health and body structure are checked before they are put up for sale.

In November, commercial airline pilot Bruce Boey bought a three-year-old Corsa-e from another dealer, Auto Alley, for around S$82,000. The 53-year-old specifically sought out a unit with relatively lower mileage – at 49,000km – to remain within the car’s 160,000km or eight-year warranty.

In 2016, BlueSG signed an agreement with LTA and EDB to roll out 1,000 electric cars and 2,000 EV charging points across Singapore by 2020. The programme was launched in 2017.

BlueSG was sold to Goldbell Group in 2021 with more than 650 cars in its fleet. Goldbell Group, a commercial and industrial vehicle giant in Singapore, said then that it planned to invest more than S$70 million “over the next five years” to enhance the service with new vehicles and technology to improve customer experience.

Before it suspended operations, BlueSG was the only point-to-point car-sharing service in Singapore. Users were able to leave the cars at their destinations, instead of having to return them to the EV charging stations from where they started.

French energy giant TotalEnergies, which operates charging stations used by the BlueSG fleet, said in December that it was pulling out of the EV charging business in Singapore. By the end of 2025, all its stations in HDB carparks will be taken over by other operators. THE STRAITS TIMES