Editor’s note: This article has been updated following BlueSG’s layoff announcement yesterday evening.
Singapore electric car-sharing company BlueSG announced it will cease its current operations on August 8 at 11:59 pm, as part of plans for a major upgrade.
In a statement on August 4, the company wrote that the pause comes ahead of a complete platform overhaul, which will feature a revamped fleet, wider network coverage, and upgraded technology designed to better support the future of shared mobility in Singapore.
Speaking to The Straits Times, BlueSG CEO Keith Kee stated that the upgrade comes in a bid for the company’s observations in the evolution of the local car-sharing landscape and potential to scale its number of users.
“It became clear that the current infrastructure of BlueSG needs to be upgraded fast to meet the demands of tomorrow,” said Kee. “That’s why we’re taking bold steps now to pause, minimise distractions and focus our resources on delivering a completely new platform.”
Staff were laid off following announcement
The car-sharing giant, with about 250,000 subscribers, has also announced that it has laid off staff as part of a restructuring exercise ahead of its planned hiatus of its car-sharing operations from Friday.
Calling it a “difficult decision to streamline operations significantly,” the company did not reveal how many staff were affected, but confirmed that it is now operating with “a core team”.
According to BlueSG, affected employees were notified on Monday morning, and it’s working closely with them to provide fair severance pay, clear communication, and meaningful transition support. The company is also exploring potential redeployment opportunities across the group.
“As we prepare for the next phase, we anticipate new roles will open up – and we genuinely hope to welcome back members of our original team when the upgraded platform launches,” BlueSG said in response to CNA.
The pioneer of electric-car sharing services in Singapore
BlueSG was first launched in 2017 as Singapore’s first electric car-sharing service, and as part of the Land Transport Authority’s nationwide electric car-sharing initiative. At that time, it had only about 80 Bluecars and 30 charging stations.
Today, the company has a fleet of 1000 electric cars spanning over 500 locations islandwide, according to its website.
In 2021, BlueSG had two acquisitions to spur its growth. The first was by French oil giant TotalEnergies, which announced that they are acquiring the company’s 1,500 EV charging network for an undisclosed sum in July.
Goldbell Group, a Singaporean commercial and industrial vehicle leasing and distribution company, completed its acquisition of the company in October of the same year, where they stated their intention to invest S$40 million by the end of 2023.
Currently, BlueSG has shared that the new service is expected to launch in 2026, with more details to be revealed.
Some questions have yet to be answered
However, given the abruptness of this announcement, a few questions definitely came to our minds.
Where are the cars going to go? Are they just going to stay at their carparks? Why are they pausing all of their operations instead of rolling them out progressively?
BlueSG has shared that account closures, billing matters, subscription changes, and refunds will continue to be processed until the end of the month. All accounts will also remain accessible until August 31, 2025.
The Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) told The Straits Times that it is working with BlueSG to create a dedicated channel to address matters related to the refund of credits and outstanding bills.
Vulcan Post has reached out to BlueSG for further comments, but has received no response so far. And with little information to work with, many users have come forward online to express their concerns.
According to this Reddit thread, the majority of the comments are speculating that the upgrade will lead to price hikes, especially after the company offered a free tier just this May. Some also said that the pause indicates that BlueSG is facing financial headwinds and is using the next few months to recoup its losses.
On the other hand, others are more optimistic about the announcement, despite the surprise it brought. Speaking to CNA, two users noted that the cars are prone to “wear and tear” and that the Point-A-To-B Rental model is not the most convenient in practice.
“I understand this pause may be part of their obligations or business restructuring, and rather than dragging things out, I think it’s better they address the issues head-on,” said a BlueSG user who only wanted to be known as Jeremy to CNA.
Will we see a whole new BlueSG next year? What will that look like? Looks like we will only know then.
- Learn more about BlueSG’s upgrade here.
- Read more news we’ve covered on Singapore’s current affairs here.
Featured Image Credit: Land Transport Authority