[anjan_c2007]

Singapore has a 10-year 'certificate of entitlement' (COE) system, introduced in 1990, to control the number of vehicles in the small country which is home to 5.9-million people and can be driven across in less than an hour.

To own a car in Singapore a buyer must bid for a certificate that costs S $106,000 as a post-pandemic recovery has driven up the cost of the city-state's vehicle quota system to all-time highs.

The quota, offered through a bidding process, has made it the most expensive city in the world to buy a car, with the COE for a large car more than quadrupling from 2020 prices on Wednesday to a record S$146,002.

Including COE, registration fees and taxes, a new standard Toyota Camry hybrid costs S$251,388 in Singapore, compared with S $28,855 in the US. A small, government subsidised flat in Singapore costs about S$125,000.

In 2020, when fewer people in Singapore were driving, the price of COEs dropped to about S$30,000; a post-Covid-19 increase in economic activity has led to more car purchases while the total number of vehicles on the road is capped at about 950,000. The number of new COEs available depends on how many older cars are deregistered.

The rocketing price puts cars out of reach of most middle-class Singaporeans, putting a dent in what sociologist Tan Ern Ser said was the “Singapore Dream” of upward social mobility — having cash, a condominium and a car.

The median annual household salary in Singapore is S$121,188.

Singaporeans have been battered by persistent inflation and a slowing economy and some are selling the cars they bought when COE prices were low to make a profit.

“There is a need to lower one’s aspiration from achieving the 'good life' to settling with a 'good enough life',” Tan said.

Jason Guan, 40, an insurance agent and father of two, said he bought his first car, a Toyota Rush, for S$65,000 in 2008, including the price of the COE.

Now Guan lives without a car, focusing on other perks Singapore offers for his family.

“As a family man, it doesn’t affect me much as Singapore still has a good and stable education system. In terms of security, it's still one of the safest countries,” he said.

(One Singapore Dollar equals 60.76 Indian Rupees and 0.73 US $)

The newslinks:-

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67014420

https://www.timeslive.co.za/motoring...-to-own-a-car/

[Turbanator]

It will be interesting to hear more from some of the members based in Singapore or have first-hand experience. News like this sounds nice and calms us mortals who otherwise feel frustrated with 10-20% towards registration

How does the Toll system work and can someone buy and keep a car in a neighbouring country and bring it in only on a need basis? (like Malaysia)

[alpha1]

What is the size of Singapore?
How is the public transport connectivity in Singapore?
Why does a personal vehicle become a necessity in Singapore?

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by alpha1

What is the size of Singapore?
How is the public transport connectivity in Singapore?
Why does a personal vehicle become a necessity in Singapore?

Singapore has one of the best public transport systems in the world. The entire city state is seamlessly connected by a superb network of MRT trains. Bus network is extensive and extremely punctual. The city is very pedestrian friendly as well. You really don’t need a car to get around.

[blahman]

I was in Singapore for a year from 2011 to 2012. The MRT is well connected and to some places where the station is not nearby, for examply I lived in Upper Bukit Timah where there wasn't a MRT station nearby, the bus connectivity is extremely good to the point where there are apps to tell you the exact bus arrival time to the minute at a particular bus stand and they are always on time. They have multiple busses under the same Route number coming by every 10 minutes.

Plus, there are always cabs that pop up within 5 minutes at any given time. All this was a decade ago. I'm sure things have become more efficient now.

My friend who settled there bought a used Toyota sedan last year since they had a kid. I remember him mentioning he spent around 60 lakhs (INR value) for it, not sure which model and mf year. Bottom line, the city given its size is so well connected by public transport one wouldn't need a car rationally.

[Gaur]

Just yesterday i happened to speak with one of my childhood friend who shifted to Singapore 2 years back and we spoke on this issue as well.

The COE prices in many cases are higher then the vehicle itself it seems, few people are selling off their COE's and making a good profit on it.

My friend does plan to purchase a vehicle going ahead but is worried at the increasing rate of the COE that by the time he decides its cost might become unfeasible for him.

when i asked him why do you really need a car when Singapore has such a great public transport he said humidity, many times he takes a Uber when there is an important early morning meeting so that he arrives fresh for it, most other days when a lttle bit of sweating dosent matter he takes public transport .

[thanixravindran]

My college friends in Singapore used to joke that they use BMW to commute there when I picked up an i10 a decade ago in Bangalore as first car. No, its not the German they refer but it is Bus - Metro - Walk to reach office

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

It will be interesting to hear more from some of the members based in Singapore or have first-hand experience. News like this sounds nice and calms us mortals who otherwise feel frustrated with 10-20% towards registration

The article is correct – the COE (Certificate of Entitlement) prices have sky-rocketed in recent years and consistently stay above SGD 100,000 (INR 61 lakhs) month-on-month. And the COE is valid only for 10 years, after which if the owner want to keep the car s/he need to extend the COE for next 5/10 years.

Just for comparison – As of today, the Suzuki Swift costs around SGD 137,000 (INR 84 lakhs), and a Mercedes C-Class C180 costs around SGD 340,000 (around INR 2 crores)

Below is the COE chart for this month:


Source

Originally Posted by Turbanator

How does the Toll system work and can someone buy and keep a car in a neighbouring country and bring it in only on a need basis? (like Malaysia)

Peak hour tolls on CBD and expressways varies from SGD 1 – 5, depending on the road, time etc. Cars from Malaysia can be here on need basis only.

Originally Posted by alpha1

What is the size of Singapore?
How is the public transport connectivity in Singapore?
Why does a personal vehicle become a necessity in Singapore?

Public transport system is extremely efficient, with trains and buses all well-connected door-to-door. And the ride-hailing platforms (similar to Uber) works out quite cheap compared to western counterparts. I know many who take their car out only on the weekends (say to ferry kids to multiple classes).

[GTE]

Ironically the road tax for electric cars is more than double that of ICE cars.

[Mustang Sammy]

Having lived in Singapore for many years, IMHO you can manage very well without a private car as long as you don’t have small children.
Public transport, although amazing, can be a hassle to manage with strollers, baby bags and the other support systems taken along for the little ones.

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by GTE

Ironically the road tax for electric cars is more than double that of ICE cars.

Not sure about taxes in Singapore, but I am pretty sure they are doing these high taxes for congestion.

Also they will be losing out on the fuel taxes in case of EVs.

[DCIT_Prabodh]

Having just returned from Singapore, I can vouch that BMW (Bus, MRT, Walk) system truly is fantastic. Singapore's weather fluctuates from incessant rains to scorching sunshine. So most of the footpaths and pedestrian walkways are sheltered. Even if you forget your umbrella and it's raining, you can use the sheltered walkways to reach the nearest bus station or MRT easily. Because of very few cars on the street, in case you choose to take a cab, time to reach anywhere is quite less. Cab prices, while quite high compared to Malaysia and nearby South East Asian countries, are ok considering the distance travelled hardly exceeds 30 kms due to the small size of the country. Buses as well as cabs are extremely well maintained compared to the kinds we find here. Also, there are police cameras everywhere, even at the places you don't expect. Once, my friend and I were stranded at a highway due to a folly of ours (trying to take a shortcut while having a late night stroll) and within 15 mins, a pickup arrived from the traffic police saying we saw you walking at a non-pedestrian walkway asking, "are you guys lost and can we drop you to the nearest bus station?". Very impressive!
Downsides of not owning a car are a few though. Many times late at night (say post 12 am), there may be no cabs available and no public transportation either. But otherwise, I would say you don't really need a car in Singapore - and even some of the civil servants used to daily commute by bus-mrt-walk (to put it in context, civil servants of Singapore are amongst the highest paid civil servants anywhere in the world).

[guruji]

The singapore model is ideal to be emulated for indian metros. We can't keep on building flyovers, widening roads and expect the traffic congestion to disappear. Remember, the vehicle population in our country is increasing at a rate that can't be accomodated with more roads or wider roads. The only option for all our metros is to have singapore like public connectivity and making car prices prohibitively expensive to balance the growth and quality of life.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by guruji

The singapore model is ideal to be emulated for indian metros. We can't keep on building flyovers, widening roads and expect the traffic congestion to disappear. Remember, the vehicle population in our country is increasing at a rate that can't be accomodated with more roads or wider roads. The only option for all our metros is to have singapore like public connectivity and making car prices prohibitively expensive to balance the growth and quality of life.

In theory yes and I've probably heard a hundred times how some cities/countries try to sell their populace the, "We are going to be the next Singapore" dream that never happened in reality. Even developed nations find it difficult to replicate the efficiency of Singapore's public transit system.

There will not be another Singapore. The below video talks about Singapore's journey and what the people had to give up for it.

https://youtu.be/KB1vxqD0uPE?si=RDbTwaZNH32YYeC7

Originally Posted by Turbanator

News like this sounds nice and calms us mortals who otherwise feel frustrated with 10-20% towards registration

It is eye-watering to hear the costs of being an automobile enthusiast in Singapore. I mean the real ones that actually pay for their toys and not the keyboard warriors. They talk in millions.

The below videos give some insights. Apparently some people get their cars purposely "stolen" i.e. driven to Malaysia and then the cars live in Malaysia for the rest of their lives.

https://youtu.be/0kadRGJTnT4?si=SlRjTIZmxbhXjT8J

https://youtu.be/n4f6ZWn96gI?si=ftYKmAjO8FHA-bYh

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by guruji

The singapore model is ideal to be emulated for indian metros. We can't keep on building flyovers, widening roads and expect the traffic congestion to disappear. Remember, the vehicle population in our country is increasing at a rate that can't be accomodated with more roads or wider roads. The only option for all our metros is to have singapore like public connectivity and making car prices prohibitively expensive to balance the growth and quality of life.

We have 59 cars for 1000 people as if 2020, is that okay given our economic progress? Of course no. Traffic management and maintenance of roads shouldn't be the achilles heel of a city's development, a car is a huge step up in living standards, if you have enjoyed that pleasure you must be kind enough to let those who are coming up in life after you enjoy the same quality of life.

Please don't suggest that our government decides who gets to own a car, we will go 50 years back as a country if middle income families cannot afford a car, it's that simple. If brain drain exists currently, imagine how insane it would be if every single well educated fellow from our country decides to make a living else where because their education made 0 difference to their living standards?

Time to think.