ComfortDelGro invests S$10 million in BYD fleet to pivot toward private-hire model
The transport giant is expanding its Zig platform with electric and hybrid vehicles as traditional taxi numbers decline.
ComfortDelGro is investing S$10 million to expand its private-hire vehicle (PHV) fleet with electric and hybrid models from BYD. The move marks a strategic effort to integrate more sustainable vehicles into the company's Zig ride-hailing platform.
The investment focuses on adding the electric BYD M6 and the hybrid BYD Seal 6 DM-i to the fleet. This expansion comes as the company's private-hire driver base on the Zig platform grew by approximately 28% in 2025, now exceeding 4,000 drivers. This growth in the PHV segment contrasts with a decline in traditional operations; ComfortDelGro's taxi fleet in Singapore shrank by 5%, falling from roughly 8,000 vehicles in the first half of 2025 to 7,600 in the first half of 2026.
A Shift in Strategy
This pivot occurs against a backdrop of significant financial pressure in the point-to-point transport sector. ComfortDelGro's net profit (PATMI) fell 19.7% to S$85.1 million in the first half of 2026. While the company previously announced a broader S$6 billion electrification plan for its buses and taxis in 2023, this specific S$10 million allocation targets the PHV market. The transition reflects a broader industry trend where drivers increasingly prefer the flexibility of leasing private-hire vehicles over the traditional taxi model.
Market Implications
The investment signals a critical transition for one of Southeast Asia's largest transport operators. By moving away from a taxi-led monopoly toward a diversified, platform-based model, ComfortDelGro is attempting to stabilize its revenue streams against aggressive ride-hailing competitors. The partnership with BYD allows the company to modernize its fleet while lowering the barrier for drivers to adopt electric and hybrid technology. By integrating these vehicles into the Zig ecosystem, the company aims to capture a larger share of the evolving urban mobility market.
Future Outlook
Industry observers will be watching whether this diversification can reverse the downward trend in net profits and offset the continuing decline of the traditional taxi fleet. While the integration of BYD vehicles will happen in stages, the success of the strategy depends on the company's ability to attract and retain PHV drivers in a highly competitive landscape. It remains to be seen if this shift toward a hybrid taxi-PHV model will be sufficient to counter the systemic pressures facing point-to-point transport operators in Singapore.