Driving in Singapore requires a US$100,000 certificate; understand

Car buyers in Singapore will now need to shell out almost US$100,000 for a certificate to own a small car, as costs under the city-state's vehicle quota system hit an all-time high for small models on Wednesday (8).

Singapore holds regular auctions for a fixed number of "certificates of title" that allow car ownership for 10 years, which helps limit the number of vehicles on the road to around 1 million.

Singapore has a population of 6.1 million people and the city-state can be crossed by car in less than an hour.

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Auctions have made Singapore the most expensive city in the world to buy a car.

Prices for certificates for small vehicles, or those with an engine capacity of less than 1.6 liters, have quadrupled compared to pre-pandemic levels, with no signs of slowing down.

Responding to parliamentary questions in May about rising prices, Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said demand remained strong due to competitive prices for electric cars, while the availability of certificates for smaller vehicles at auction was decreasing.

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The price of the certificate alone is now equivalent to the cost of buying four Toyota Corollas in the United States. The same vehicle in Singapore, with the certificate, registration fees and taxes, would cost 179,888 thousand Singapore dollars (US$139,000).

In comparison, the average annual household salary in the city-state is S$149,352, while a small government-subsidized apartment starts at S$139,000.

In October 2023, when certificates for larger cars surpassed the US$100,000 mark, those for smaller cars were around US$77,500.

Prices have been rising steadily since this year's first auction of US$78,844 (102,009 mil Singapore dollars).

Many automakers reduce the engine power of popular models for the Singapore market so that their cars qualify for the cheaper certificate.

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Source: CNN