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SINGAPORE: Singapore-based Goldbell Group confirmed on Friday (February 5) plans to acquire electric car-sharing company BlueSG, saying it will invest more than S $ 70 million in expanding the commercial and technical capabilities of the company for the next five years.
Goldbell said it expects the acquisition to finalize in August, and that French conglomerate Bollore Group, of which BlueSG is a subsidiary, will continue to manage operations until then.
BlueSG was launched in 2017 as part of a national electric car sharing scheme with the Singapore Land Transport Authority and the Economic Development Board.
It currently has around 650 vehicles and more than 1,200 recharging points throughout the island.
Meanwhile, the 41-year-old Goldbell Group is Singapore’s largest commercial vehicle leasing company, whose subsidiaries include on-demand mobility startup SWAT and xSquare, which specializes in autonomous storage solutions.
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Speaking to CNA on Friday, Goldbell CEO Arthur Chua said Bollore will continue to run BlueSG’s existing electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure even as Goldbell takes over the car-sharing business.
“Goldbell’s DNA, our domain expertise, is in vehicles, it’s in fleet management and mobility … we invest only in what we understand,” he said.
He declined to reveal how much the deal is worth, but said estimates of S $ 20 million to S $ 25 million previously reported by the Straits Times were “underestimated.”
The S $ 70 million investment will go to areas such as adding new vehicles to the fleet. Chua said Goldbell is looking to include other types of EVs in the fleet, beyond BlueSG’s signature white hatchbacks.
It also plans to partner with other companies to allow BlueSG users to charge their vehicles using their electric vehicle charging points.
Goldbell will also establish a new research and development center with a dedicated technology team that will work on the development of new mobility algorithms and technologies.
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Singapore will act as the global headquarters for BlueSG, Chua said, adding that there are plans to expand the business regionally.
Among the potential revenue streams being considered for BlueSG is corporate car sharing, where companies allow their employees to access dedicated fleets, he added, noting Goldbell’s experience with vehicle leasing.
Goldbell had first considered entering the car-sharing market a decade ago, he said, adding that it continued to monitor the sector even though experience from other companies suggested it was an area where it was “very difficult to be profitable.”
The company first learned that BlueSG was planning to sell the business in June of last year, he said, and had been in talks ever since.
It was previously reported that BlueSG had incurred millions of dollars in losses since it began operating here more than three years ago.
However, Chua said he saw potential in the business due to a continued rise in adoption rates, which soared after the COVID-19 outbreak when some were hesitant to take public transportation.
“Simply put, we believe that the adoption rate for car-sharing businesses is ready now and will continue to increase for years to come,” he said.
