How Long-Term Car Leasing Works in Singapore (2026)

Long-term car leasing in Singapore has shifted from a niche expat option to a mainstream answer to six-figure COE prices, which hit S$126,009 for Category A in June 2026. This blog walks you through how long-term car leasing actually works here: who qualifies, how the terms flex, what one monthly fee covers, and the real costs. Start with our flexible long-term lease plans.

What exactly is long-term car leasing in Singapore?

Long-term car leasing in Singapore is a fixed-term arrangement where you pay one monthly fee to drive a company-registered vehicle for 6 to 72 months, with road tax, insurance, servicing, and maintenance bundled in. You hold no Certificate of Entitlement, and you carry none of the resale or depreciation risk that comes with buying.

That single feature separates leasing from both of its neighbours. Daily and weekly hire is built for short trips and visitors. Buying ties up a six-figure sum in a COE that loses value the moment it is issued. Leasing sits in between: you get continuous, exclusive use of a car, registered to Singapore Car Rental rather than to you, for a period you choose. The company handles the LTA registration, the workshop schedule, and the insurance renewals. You handle the driving and the fuel. For drivers who want a car without the capital outlay, that trade is the entire point.

Who qualifies for a long-term car lease in Singapore?

Most licensed adults qualify, and so do companies. As an individual, you need a valid Class 3 or 3A Singapore driving licence, or a recognised foreign licence supported by an International Driving Permit. Providers generally set a minimum age around 21 to 23 and ask for at least a year or two of driving history for insurance reasons.

Expats are a large part of this market, and the term structure is built for them. An Employment Pass holder can match a lease to the validity of their pass, so the car and the visa expire together with no early-exit penalty. Companies lease under their registered name, claim the 9 percent GST as input tax, and put staff on a single account. That business path runs through our corporate fleet leasing service, which adds monthly invoicing and a dedicated account manager. The eligibility bar is low; the documentation, not the qualification, is what most people underestimate.

How long can you lease for, and how flexible are the terms?

You can lease from 6 to 72 months, which is the widest range on offer in Singapore. The right term is not the one with the lowest headline rate. It is the one that matches your certainty horizon: a two-year posting, a three-year family plan, a six-month bridge while you decide whether to buy.

Shorter terms cost more per month and keep you nimble. Longer terms lower the monthly figure and lock in your rate against COE volatility. Singapore Car Rental allows annual adjustments, so you can change the car as your needs shift rather than carrying the wrong vehicle for years. Leases longer than 12 months also come with a free doorstep test drive before you commit. If you expect heavy use, read our piece on unlimited-mileage leases for expats, because mileage policy is where many lease contracts quietly punish their best customers.

What’s included in the monthly lease fee?

A long-term lease fee bundles road tax, comprehensive motor insurance, scheduled servicing, mechanical maintenance, and 24/7 roadside assistance into one predictable number. If the car goes into the workshop or breaks down, you get a replacement vehicle so you are never grounded. Singapore Car Rental also offers unlimited mileage, which means no excess-kilometre billing at the end of the term.

This is where leases diverge sharply, and where the cheap ones reveal themselves. A stripped headline rate often excludes servicing, caps your annual mileage, or makes breakdown cover an add-on. The all-inclusive structure is the stronger model because it removes the two costs drivers cannot predict: a major repair bill and a depreciation surprise. Our note on round-the-clock breakdown support explains why that replacement-vehicle clause matters more than most drivers realise until the day they need it.

What does a long-term lease not cover?

A lease covers the car and its upkeep, not your daily running costs. You still pay for fuel, ERP charges, parking, season passes, and any traffic fines you collect. None of these sit inside the monthly fee, and they add up faster than new drivers expect.

Two changes make this more concrete for 2026. ERP 2.0 began rolling out, and from 1 April 2026 foreign-registered vehicles could fit the new On-Board Unit ahead of a flat-rate charge scheduled for 1 January 2027. If you plan to drive across the Causeway, your leased car needs an activated Vehicle Entry Permit RFID tag, fully enforced since July 2025, with a RM300 fine for crossing without one. Budget these separately. Our guide to budgeting for ERP and parking breaks down the daily numbers most people forget.

How much deposit do you pay, and is it refundable?

You pay a refundable security deposit at the start of the lease, typically equivalent to one to two months of the agreed rental. It is returned at the end of the term, minus any cost for damage beyond fair wear or outstanding charges such as unpaid fines. Confirm the exact figure with the provider, because it varies with the vehicle and lease length.

The deposit is not a fee; it is a hold against risk, and it behaves much like a rental hold. Pay it by a method you can reconcile later, keep your handover condition report, and photograph the car at collection and return. That single habit settles almost every deposit dispute before it starts. For the mechanics of how holds are placed and released, see our breakdown of how rental deposits work in Singapore.

How does the application process work, and how soon can you drive?

The application runs in four steps, and it moves in days rather than weeks. You pick a vehicle, tailor the term and any extras such as named drivers, submit your documents, then sign and pay before delivery.

Individuals provide a valid driving licence, NRIC or passport with a current pass, and proof of local address. Companies add an ACRA business profile and an authorisation letter signed by a manager or above. Once the agreement is signed and the deposit plus first month clear, Singapore Car Rental delivers the car, completes the LTA paperwork on its side, and hands over the keys. There is no COE bidding, no insurance shopping, and no registration queue to sit through. The slowest part is usually assembling your own documents, so prepare those first.

Is leasing actually cheaper than owning a car in Singapore?

For most drivers who keep a car under four or five years, leasing wins on both cash flow and risk. Ownership starts with a COE that closed at S$126,009 for Category A in the first June 2026 exercise, before the car itself, ARF, the 9 percent GST, insurance, and depreciation. Total ownership costs commonly run past S$2,500 a month once every line item is counted.

The pressure is structural, not temporary. Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat told Parliament that it is “not tenable” for the vehicle population to keep rising, and car ownership has already fallen to roughly one-third of households, down from 40 percent in 2013. Leasing answers that math directly. It converts a six-figure capital outlay and an unknown depreciation curve into one fixed monthly figure you can forecast for years. You lose the upside if COE values ever fall and the car is worth more than expected. For most drivers, that is a trade worth making.

What happens at the end of your lease term?

At the end of the term you renew, upgrade, or return the car, and that is the whole decision. There is no resale to negotiate, no COE deregistration to file, and no scrap-value gamble at the 10-year mark.

Renewing keeps your rate roughly stable against the next COE cycle. Upgrading lets you move into a newer or larger vehicle as your circumstances change. Returning simply ends the obligation on the date you chose at signing. Because the car was registered to Singapore Car Rental throughout, the exit is administrative rather than financial. That clean off-ramp is the quiet advantage of leasing, and it is the part owners rarely get to enjoy.

Conclusion

Leasing reframes the Singapore car question. Instead of betting a six-figure sum on a volatile COE and an unknown resale value, you convert ownership’s three biggest variables, depreciation, maintenance risk, and registration cost, into one fixed monthly number tied to a term you choose. The decision turns on your time horizon and your appetite for risk, not the sticker price alone.

Tell us how long you need a car and what you drive it for, and we will size the term and the vehicle to match. Request a lease quote from the Singapore Car Rental leasing team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I drive a leased car into Malaysia? 

Yes, with an activated Vehicle Entry Permit RFID tag, which Malaysia has fully enforced since 1 July 2025. Singapore Car Rental offers Malaysia-ready vehicles on request. Crossing without a valid VEP risks a RM300 fine, and since 1 April 2026 foreign-registered cars must use RON97 rather than subsidised RON95.

Is there a mileage limit on a long-term lease? 

No. Singapore Car Rental offers unlimited mileage on its long-term leases, so there is no annual cap and no excess-kilometre billing. That differs from many global lease products, which set a yearly limit around 15,000 to 20,000 km and charge per kilometre over it. Unlimited mileage suits expats and heavy commuters.

Can I add another driver to my lease? 

Yes. You can name additional drivers on the lease agreement and the insurance policy, subject to the same licence and age checks as the primary driver. This matters for families sharing one car and for companies rotating staff. Confirm each driver before they take the wheel, because insurance follows the named-driver list.

What happens if the leased car breaks down? 

Singapore Car Rental provides 24/7 roadside assistance and a replacement vehicle during breakdown or workshop time, so you are not left stranded. Because servicing and mechanical maintenance sit inside the monthly fee, you do not pay a separate repair bill for normal faults. Report the issue and the support line coordinates the rest.

Do leased cars have special rental number plates? 

No. New lease and hire cars in Singapore carry ordinary private plates issued by the LTA. The old SZ and SZA series once used for rental and chauffeur cars stopped taking new registrations, so a leased car looks identical to a privately owned one on the road. There is no visible rental stigma.