Carro, Southeast Asia’s largest automotive marketplace, recently launched a subscription-based car service in Singapore – a first in the region. There are 3 plans to choose from: Daily (S$1,199/month for cars like the Volkswagen Golf and Toyota Altis), Roomy (S$1,499/month for SUVs and 7-seater cars), and Fancy (S$1,999 a month for luxury vehicles like a Mercedes-Benz or BMW). The monthly fee covers all costs associated with car ownership, including insurance, road tax, warranty, and maintenance.

Of course, this isn’t the first novel shared mobility solution (see Flexdrive and Fair). Manufacturers have jumped onboard too (Care by Volvo, Porsche's Passport and BMW’s Access). But Carro’s decision to launch this in Singapore highlights two conditions that make a market ripe for access-over-ownership disruption:

Access over (ripoff) ownership. Singapore is the most expensive country in the world to own a car. Owning a car there signals you've finally made it... by stepping onto a recurring financial treadmill of installments, fuel, insurance and maintenance. The same car works out to be double the cost in Singapore than in Malaysia, just across a bridge! Can you identify a local market or specific segment of consumer who, relative to everyone else, is getting charged like a wounded rhino?

Choice where there was none. Singapore has a vehicle quota license called the Certificate of Entitlement (COE). This lets owners use their certified car for 10 years, and that permit alone can cost around USD 20,000. Carro – observing this was a hefty pain point of car ownership – offers an unprecedented level of flexibility. In 2019, who can face committing to anything for a decade? Another deceptively simple question for you: which customer segment is severely restricted and, therefore, frustrated in their choices? When you find overlap with the above condition (high prices), and this one (low choice), there is your white space!