ComfortDelGro Taxi places order for 200 new taxis on revived demand

COMFORTDELGRO Taxi, the taxi arm of Singapore-listed ComfortDelGro Corporation, on Monday said it has placed an order for 200 new hybrid Hyundai Ioniqs – its first in close to one-and-a-half years.

The first batch is due to arrive next month, and will immediately be leased out to the growing line of would-be hirers.

ComfortDelGro Taxi CEO Ang Wei Neng said: “We have seen things settle down lately with more drivers switching from private hire cars as they find driving taxis relatively more stable. At the same time, we also see more new drivers who have recently obtained the Taxi Driver's Vocational Licence joining us. We had stopped replacing old taxis for a while, but demand has grown in the last few months so we have decided to order new taxis.”

The group last placed an order for 1,050 taxis in December 2016.

ComfortDelGro Taxi signed on close to 300 new hirers in April – close to double the number in the same period last year. Drivers have also been taking on more booking jobs – about 9 per cent more than they did last year. 

With the latest purchase, ComfortDelGro Taxi will have a fleet of close to 13,000, representing a market share of about 60 per cent.

ComfortDelGro Corp shares were down one Singapore cent at S$2.19 at 11.27am.