Private-hire car rental company Lumens ends leases early for around 100 drivers

[SINGAPORE] Private-hire car (PHC) rental company Lumens has ended leases early for around 100 hirers since November 2025, with the cars returned to the company.

A Lumens spokesperson told The Business Times that the move was a response to some drivers abusing fuel incentives provided by the company, though he also added that not all drivers were engaging in the practice.

“The main reason is that we discovered an abuse of our rental package where some hirers found a loophole which resulted in (them) paying a rental rate that is lower than market rate,” he said.

This issue was discovered in September 2025, and hirers were contacted on the change to their package in October 2025.

The spokesperson added: “As a result of this, we conducted a review, and we found some cases where there was potential mis-selling by our ex-sales staff. There was some termination because of this as well, and we have informed all the hirers involved.”

Those who decided not to continue with Lumens would have mutually agreed to end the contract early with the company, he said.

Lumens provides a per-kilometre incentive on fuel for ride-hailing trips served. The incentives are paid out only to the primary hirer and are meant to incentivise them to serve more trips.

However, some drivers engaged sub-drivers to serve trips for them and claimed the incentive, resulting in petrol claims as high as S$2,700, almost triple the typical fuel bill for a Lumens’ PHC.

Some drivers also claimed the incentive for personal trips to Malaysia.

A typical PHC rental costs from S$2,000 a month.

With a fleet of more than 5,000 vehicles, Lumens is one of the largest PHC leasing companies in Singapore.

Lumens declined to comment on whether it would be selling the vehicles involved.

“We sell a limited number of our cars for annual fleet renewal each year,” said the spokesperson, without elaborating.

Some drivers miffed

Some drivers were unhappy with the way the recall was handled.

A 47-year-old driver, who wanted to remain anonymous, was renting a Toyota Noah multipurpose vehicle from Lumens to serve ride-hailing trips. Her 18-month contract with the company, which was supposed to end in March 2026, was terminated three months early.

According to her, Lumens said that the car required recall by the authorised dealer. As part of the contract terms, a 30-day notice is required before termination, but the company only gave her 10 days’ notice.

Lumens offered her a new contract, but did not have the same model available and the cost of the lease was higher than before.

The company said that rental contracts may increase in price over time due to various factors, such as Certificate of Entitlement premiums, as well as vehicle and maintenance costs.

Industry observers have said the case of Autobahn Rent A Car may see PHC rental companies’ access to financing curtailed if banks and financial institutions decide to increase scrutiny and reduce exposure to the sector.

Autobahn Rent A Car, another PHC rental company, and related entities owe creditors more than S$300 million and is appealing for a court moratorium, which was rejected on Dec 26, 2025.

Lumens emphasised that it is not facing any current difficulties.

“It has been business as usual for us, and we have a good relationship with our lenders, who are supportive of established companies with viable business models,” said the representative.