It is commonplace for a taxi car to be comfortable, safe and have very strong durability, both in terms of performance and after sales.
However, this turned out to be not enough for a taxi in Singapore. Because, in neighboring countries, taxis also need to look luxurious.
This is what the taxi company in the country of Lions, ComfortDelGro Corp, wants to implement in August-September 2023. Demikia reported by The Straits Times.
It is known that ComfortDelGro Corp has ordered 30 Lexus ES300 hybrids from Lexus Borneo Motors to be used as a special taxi fleet for the sultan.
So, to bring in a Lexus taxi car, reportedly the company has to spend up to SGD10 million Singapore dollars.
As for a Lexus ES300h, at least the car must be redeemed for around SGD300,000 or 30 percent cheaper than the price of a Mercedes-Benz car of the same class.
Luxury Taxi Car Not The First Time
For ComfortDelGro Corp, having a fleet of luxury taxis is not the first time. This is because in recent years they have also used the premium Mercedes-Benz brand.
This was also done about 27 years ago or around 1996, at which time the City Cab taxi company, which is now under the auspices of ComfortDelGro, bought 30 Mercedes E300 taxi sedans.
Over time, other taxi operators followed suit and in 2007, there were at least 1,000 taxis classified as luxury.
Pros and Cons of Lexus Becomes a Taxi Car
ComfortDelGro's decision to bring in taxis from the Lexus brand is indeed the usual strategy for taxi service companies.
This is also implemented in several cities such as in the United Arab Emirates, England, the United States to Germany.
It's just that, with Lexus cars used as taxi fleets, this has raised pros and cons from several automotive experts, one of whom is Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore Business School, Dr Zafar Momin.
According to him, with a car being used as a taxi fleet, it is possible to damage the image of a certain brand.
"Especially in a market like ours (in Singapore), where consumers are very aware of brands and car prices are very expensive," said Zafar.
