Rules and legislations must move with the times, and Singapore’s Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system is on the table for a revamp. To spread car ownership more evenly, the island republic’s government is considering levying a surcharge on second and third cars owned by one individual. Also to be reviewed are how the COE categories are defined.
Like Malaysia’s road tax system, COE categories are based on engine capacity, and it worked fine until the European carmakers started the downsizing wave, putting more and more premium models into lower categories. It could be news to some that stalwarts like the Toyota Corolla and Mitsubishi Lancer no longer rule the SG car sales charts. In their place are VWs, Audis and BMWs.
Luxury cars took up about a third of Category A registrations last year, compared to just 7% in 2010. Cat A was the traditional home of the mass market family car with engine capacity of 1,600 cc and below.
“Models such as Mercedes C180 Kompressor and Audi A1 have an open market value and engine power that is significantly higher than those of more mass-market models such as Toyota Corolla Altis and Honda City. While this is a reflection of increasing affluence and consumer preferences, we also want to make sure that Category A, which is intended for buyers of smaller budget cars, retains its original purpose,” said Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew.
Categorising cars based on horsepower is one option. “Cars, for instance MPVs, Honda Stream, Toyota Wish, they are in Category B because of their cc. But in terms of their horse power and in terms of (buyers), it should be for those lower and middle income people. So if they are in Category B, it causes a stress to them, because they are challenging those big boys,” Honorary Secretary of the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association Raymond Tang commented, adding that sorting cars by hp will be fairer to middle income buyers.
The rich who want to own more than one car could soon be paying more for the privilege. “I am open to considering sensible options that could possibly take the form of, for example, levying a surcharge for the second, third or more cars owned by the same individual. The rationale would be that in exchange for the privilege of owning several cars, these owners should pay proportionately more by way of levies,” Lui added.
The public and industry players will be consulted on the proposed changes, before a decision is made later this year. Commercial vehicles and motorcycles will not be affected.
It’s not easy to own a car in land starved Singapore. Earlier this year, the Monetary Authority of Singapore placed a cap on motor vehicle loans, enforcing maximum loan at 50% and a maximum loan tenure of five years. MAS said the move was to encourage financial prudence. Read the full story here.
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
SG government, one of the best and clean government in the world. Why Msia just beside Sg, but msia government so bodoh ?? why ?????
I beg to differ. BN and PAP are the two evils of Southeast Asia. Singapore’s political situation isn’t any better than ours. Go and check how much PAP ministers are paid to run such a tiny island and a population one-fifth that of Malaysia. Go and check the state of Freedom of Speech and Free Press in Singapore. Go and check the state of Income Equality in Singapore. You’ll be quite surprised with the results.
Some Malaysian politician can be billionaires
Tiny island? its one of the richest country in the planet.
PAP willing to listen to the people and make immediate changes to policies, unlike BN.
You r mistaken my friend. PAP watches people and changes policies to plug the loop holes and makes peoples lives a living hell… you should spend a week there and talk to some locals, taxi drivers, coffee shop people. You will know real picture !!
Yes indeed. SG’s PAP and BN are two abomination from the same mother. which is colonial British Admin. I have an uncle which is a true born Singaporean. he said that dont ever thnk of how great Singaporean are. they are actualy living in shithole just slightly better than us due to their strong economy. G subsidizing the poor so much and the rich couldnt be bothered. those middle income group are the one suffered the most. one thing they are successful than BN is they are smart and listen to ppl. And they dont creat unnecessary racial tension.
At least they earn 5x more than Malaysians. Their GDP Per Capita is actually 5X more than us. Go and google it and see. So, in other words, they earn 5 times more than the average Malaysian. But the BMW F10 there is about SG$200,000. So, double whammy. Not only the price of the car is cheaper in Singapore (on a one to one basis and not considering the exchange rate), the average Singaporean purchasing power is 5 x that of Malaysians. So, for the average Singaporean, he can pay off the loan in about 2 years as opposed to us taking 7 or 9 years. Why our pay is low? You and I know. We have to support lazy and unproductive people who expect handouts.
Befriend more singaporean friends or have family/relatives there before saying they earn good money. They earn and spend SGD$. As far as i know average singaporeans earning SGD$5000 (RM12,500) can’t even afford a proper car and/or most importantly own a property until maybe at the age of 40+. In the end most end up in HDB government flats as private properties costs SGD$ 2.5 mil above. Average malaysians riding motorcycles to work in singapore earning SGD$3k (RM7,500) only have a hard life of enduring motorcyle jam in the causeway everyday and owning a meagre property in Johor Bahru.
i wonder y car in japan/eu very low compare to singapore? their income not so much differ
are u blind??? search on fb about “occupy singapore”…singaporean now realise their gov squeeze their money
then, you move to spore lah…
Jadi pindah lah ke Singapore. Buat apa tinggal di Malaysia? Tu pun nak ajar?
At least they are making low end cars that are intended for low end more affordable.
“levying a surcharge on second and third cars owned by one individual” – even my kids know how to counteract this…u know, I know, everyone knows.
Malaysians love to complain. But very little read beyond the title line.
‘Cars, for instance MPVs, Honda Stream, Toyota Wish, they are in Category B because of their cc. But in terms of their horse power and in terms of (buyers), it should be for those lower and middle income people’
WTH??? over here in Malaysia, only those middle to high income group can actually afford a Toyota Wish or Honda Stream…
This is because our standard of living is so low compared to SG. BTW, how do you define middle – high income?
RM5000-RM8000 – Low – Middle income
RM9000-RM15000 – Middle income
RM15000-RM20000 – Middle – High income
RM21000- RM30000 – High income
RM30000 and above – Rich
The above categories are based on current salary and standard of living in Malaysia.
You sure? Government release the average income at around RM2.8k. What category does income below 5k belongs to?
The value you’ve given there very optimistic, Mr John.
I think he’s basing on per family, not individual income
sad to see that I’m not even make it on the list. Poor me.
Sounds about right.
5000/mth. (i’m taking this as household income – with 2 working adults)
– Low income in city, Low-medium income in smaller city/towns.
Government average of applies 2800 only for Kampung.
Another shortsighted view on how to solve a structural problem… Category A, B, 1st car, 2nd car… PAP is not even touching the core issue: normal people are priced out of the market by the rich folks. Levy on 2nd and 3rd car under the same individual? Oh please. Do they really think people are that stupid to believe this is a solution? If they really care about the “average Joe” and want to make it a fair system, then just do a simply lottery / lucky draw system… everyone has the same chance no matter how much money you have (or don’t have). Also, why not open up the COE bidding session? Closed off to the public? What are they hiding? Over the past few months, they data shows a similar number of COEs being issued, an increasing number of bidders, but falling COE prices… how can that be?
Very easy to work around the HP issue. Nowadays you can easily detune the car. I agree on the 2nd & 3rd car levy though
Let’s see, a family of 6 covering 3 generations living under the same roof, so that’s 4 adults for potentially 4 cars in the same household, avoiding this “problem-solving” levy… so how does this help normal middle class people? I don’t see it.
A real lottery system would work, but I guess that would just be too fair…
I find it rather interesting that Malaysians love comparing the cheaper cars that Singapore has to offer without realizing the fact that owning a car there is so much more expensive … of course, that is if you own one to begin with, as not many here in Malaysia are able to fork out 50% down-payment on a car.
I find it rather amusing when someone starts to say owning car in singapore is much more expensive without realizing that the fact that singaporean also earn more than malaysian on average.
i feel u bro
Thumbs up for u
hell japan/EU country that has similar income like singapore paying much more less for cars…it contradict with higher income higher car price
I also find it amusing when someone says Singaporean earns more but failed to notice that the cost of living there is also damn high..
Even they come to Malaysia to shop for groceries..
@yippi3: You sure you have been to Singapore?? In Singapore, only 2 things expensive House and Cars. If you can live without a car.(in Singapore you can). Only have to worry about house. Food, grocery and clothing there are very cheap. When it comes to sales, the branded stuff damn cheap! I was there just during Raya…..bought 10++ pieces sandwich ham from GIANT, only SGD 2.50, eat at normal coffee shop, RM 3 can get wantan mee, Subway sandwich set only SGD 5.5!! My brother-in-law PR there btw. Please don’t BS.
I fly to singapore around once or twice a month an to be frank you don’t really need a car in singapore at all the public transport are good and efficient enough. When you really do need a vehicle you can always call a taxi which is alot cheaper then owning a car. Taxi prices are also quite reasonable if you actually work in singapore. Unlike in KL. where taxi drivers around the sungai wang area tend to not go by the meter. Btw is there any place i can call to complain about taxi drivers that don’t run on meter . Would really like to get their license revoke.
People who don’t stay in SG always think the public transport is good when in reality, it sucks. Most Singaporeans have no choice but to take the public transport. Taxis in SG are cheap? You must be dreaming…oh that’s because you don’t live in SG
their MRT is not reliable as u think..there will alway news(in singapore) bout MRT breakdown..but i do like that they built the station/system even there is still no demand n ulitilise that after demand is there…in boleh people will said that project is gajah putih, waste of public fund
So, u guys still think cars in SG are cheap meh? Loan of 50% car price and tenure of 5 years. Can own a car meh? Can u guys fork out Rm50k to own a Honda Civic? Or maybe Rm200K as dp for a Porsche Boxster? Got enough cash meh?
Do you really think no one here can pay RM50k cash for down payment MEH?
Dude, many ppl pay at at least 20% for dp. many of my friends paid 25%-30% dp so tat their installment can be reduced. and maximum repayment period limit to 5 years. 9 years is a joke man.
Your reasoning is correct if the car prices in MY are without excise duties. In this case, 5 year repayment is ideal. With the current market pricing, 5 year is stressful on the majority of buyers unless they only consider p1 and p2 models. IMO, this applies only to personal car purchase. Corporate purchase….different story
I pay 50% downpayment for my car, I took a loan for the 50% and settle within 3 years.
you really think no one can fork out that kind of cash?
You are rich lor. Most Malaysians are not
u buy viva maybe can loh.hahahah
Why do we even care?
How about we start caring about improving our public transport? There’s a serious need for us to pressure the govt to make public transport viable for us to a level where car is not a necessity. Efficient public transport is the hallmark of a developed country.
inb4 bersyukurlah lagi bagus dari zimbabwe
inb4 tak suka, boleh migrate
sadly but true, Our beloved Malaysia is still in a developing status after being developed for almost 30 years. technically, we r still in a third world country with full of third world mentality citizens.
thank god we dont have COE in malaysia
yes, in return, u get stagnant traffic here and there everyday…
Malaysian road is so screwed up.all the drivers loves to packed on the fast lane driving at 70km/h.. I wonder if u r slow in a cheap car, no prob, just go to middle lane. and when someone with a faster car came flashing from bhind, those hooligans will act as though their ego got hurt.
1. Singapore’s public transport is very good. no need for anyone to even own a car.
2. It’s a small island. Cycling in one day can finish go around the island.
3. 50% loan for cars at 5 years max. Good one to make sure the rakyat prudent and do not live beyond their means. it’s also good for the economy since when rakyat go bunkrupt, so thus the economy and collapse the country.
4. They don’t have ‘national pride’ car project. All the money paid for cars will eventually go to outside of Singapore.
5. Their income is somehow 3 times of their peers in Malaysia. What the heck is on 50% loan for cars? Nothing maa…
6. Malaysia got BR1M, Singapore doesn’t. That’s mean Malaysian mostly earn hardly below RM3k and still fancy to buy a Proton Saga or Myvi for a 9 years stints.
7. Ukur baju di badan sendiri like oldsays.
dont worry for those think they are good enough to be singaporean go ahead and stayed there, the rest work hard and smart and go on with your living, driving kancil or porsche to work still the same, still stuck in traffic jams and lunatic kinda malaysian driving. let singaporean have their way.. let them have all the lyches and durians…
kesian them , their land so small , that y they government do this to stop people from occupy more vehicle on their tiny island.
way to go Malaysia
We should follow SG, start with ISA and GST
Don’t need to follow SG la bro, just need to stop money leaking and channel the right money to the right areas. Which, you figure it out whether is possible or not la..
possible, by give some competition to the current ruling party and be patient.It may not happen in our generation, but we be patient for our kid. Will u be patient like my grandpa?
MY education is as good as SG?
MY public transportation is as good as SG?
MY public safety as good as SG?
MY GDP is as good as SG?
MY PPI is as good as SG?
What has MY have got to give with ISA and GST?
indonesia/thai have gst/vat…their gdp much lower than we…y cant we
Why should we give them gst if they don’t service the rakyat? Let us give them a tsunami instead!
GST is Good And Service Tax not Govt Service Tax..lol
“The PUBLIC and industry players will be consulted on the proposed changes, before a decision is made later this year.”
You definitely won’t see our leaders asking for Our opinions before making huge decisions…
Van Diesel Said: Moral of the story don’t buy car in Singapore hahaha…nice one bro
check this link out
Hollywood Stars Shocked By Singapore Car Prices
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiaFLMnXR7A
That’s good one…to Malaysians who thought cars in SG are cheap, can go fly kite with your hero Adam Adli haha
I live in Singapore most of the times and only spend my off days or annual leaves in Johor Bahru.Do you know how much that old man earns per month?Its a staggering 6 digits sing dollars and his family is untouchable unlike our Najib who always Kena bombarded.Freedom of speech dun dream bout it.Erp?Taxes?Cpf?Dun let me start.Well to put wish n stream in lower n mid income is very welcome cause most of the higher incomes opt for European Marques with tiny engine with force induction.Theres the real spoilt market for the Coe system apart from those new china citizens whom buy thing like they’re billionaires.Tiny island which got huge ambition targeting 6.9 millions by 2030 duh!