The Sunday Times, 31 Jan 2010

WHEELS FOR RENTNicholas Yong Car companies are revving up for their annual bumper rental season. Private car rental companies that Life-Style spoke to said the Chinese New Year festive period is always a lucrative time for them.  Rates can go up by as much as 30 to 50 per cents. Many companies are also closed for the holidays and so require customers to take the vehicles for as long as a week. The packages for 1.6-litre cars range for almost $600 to more than $800 for five to seven days, and depend on the type of car, the rental period and whether the hirer will take the vehicle to Malaysia. In comparison, the cost of hiring such a car starts from about $60 per day for the same rental period off-season.

C&P Car Rental chief executive officer Loi Win Yen notes:
“The Chinese New Year is usually the best period for business.  Even though there is a recession, people don’t mind spending to enjoy the convenience.

The rates have not deterred the likes of Mrs Josephine Lee.

The 40-year-old, who works in the interior construction industry, has rented a car every Chinese New Year for almost a decade to go visiting with her family.

This year, she will again pay more than $600 to rent a 1.6-litre Toyota to ferry around her real estate agent husband, their 10-year-old son and two aged parents for five days.

She says:  “ My relatives live in the north, south and central parts of Singapore and it’s quite troublesome to take a cab during the festive season, so I rent a car for the convenience.”

The bright spot is that her rental costs at Motorway Car Rentals are the same as last year’s, and it is not just because she is a regular customer.

The company is maintaining the rates to stay competitive.  It is able to do so because of the improving economy and it wants to benefit its customers, says Motorway general manager Kelly Goh.

Car companies are expecting many bookings to be last-minute ones, coming in during the immediate week before the festive season itself.

Motorway, a big player in the industry, expects its fleet of about 600 cars to be fully booked by the eve of Chinese New Year.  Currently, there are about five bookings a day.

At Alltrust Leasing, supervisor Prem Kumar also expects its fleet of 100 cars to be fully booked for the festive period.

Rental cars are mostly taken up by families, who will be visiting relatives, and Singaporeans who are working overseas but are home for the holidays, say the companies.

There are more than 100 car rental firms for customers to choose.  The most popular rentals are Japanese saloons such as Toyotas, Hondas and Mitsubishi Lancers, while MPVs (multi-purpose vehicles) are also popular with those driving to Malaysia.

Sales manager Ho Sie Chiang will be renting an MPV to ferry friends who are visiting from overseas.

The 41-year-old, who will be forking out more than $1,000 for a nine-seater for seven days, says:  “I need a big car only during Chinese New Year.  I have almost 10 friends coming this year, so it is just nice.”