Zxcvb Turbocharged February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1112147/1/.html SINGAPORE: Singapore car registrations dipped almost 40 per cent in 2010, as sky-rocketing Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums put off prospective buyers. COE premiums saw a record jump last year, with a 163 per cent increase for vehicles with engine capacity of more than 1600cc. Premiums rose 96 per cent for vehicles below 1600cc and more than 200 per cent for the open category in the same period. However, registrations for luxury cars moved in the opposite direction last year and January data shows more high-earners here are keeping up with a speeding economy. Luxury car dealerships are seeing more buyers, bucking sluggish demand in the broader auto market. BMW registrations in Singapore grew 21.4 per cent last year; Mercedes Benz saw a 17.7 per cent jump. Registrations for luxury sport autos have seen an even bigger increase. Car registrations for Porsche rose 48 per cent last year, while those for Ferrari went up a whopping 116 per cent. This compares with a 39 per cent drop in registrations in the overall auto market in Singapore. Karsono Kwee, Executive Chairman of Stuttgart Auto (Porsche), said: "I've been in the Porsche business for the last 25 years. Last year was a record year for us." According to luxury sports auto dealerships, the bulk of demand came from high-earners, such as lawyers and bankers. And these individuals may have spent their year-end bonuses chasing speed. Last month saw 97 registrations for Porsche, almost six times the December figure of 17. James Bond's favourite Aston Martin saw five registrations in January, compared with just two in December. Analysts said that with the economy growing strongly, pay packages for top executives will rise further, giving them more spending power. Pan Zai Xian, Director of Financial Services and Legal at Robert Walters, said: "A lot of compensation has been raised in the last year. I think last year has been a great year when people spend...like upgrading their vehicles before the COE prices come up. I think that's quite typical, in luxury brands we see that as well." And with pay packages expected to rise again this year, especially for those in the higher-income bracket, demand for luxury cars like these may just continue to go up. - CNA ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadX Moderator February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 that explains the low nos for Mazda and Nissan...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mllcg 3rd Gear February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 that explains the low nos for Mazda and Nissan...... but how did toyota still stay top with so many problems? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadX Moderator February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 but how did toyota still stay top with so many problems? heard.....er herd mentality....still lots of old foggies say thaiyota good.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mllcg 3rd Gear February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 heard.....er herd mentality....still lots of old foggies say thaiyota good.... is there a way to get japanese toyotas in singapore now? PIs only? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryn Turbocharged February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 Title is wrong, should be Luxury cars a hit despite because of increase in COE premium Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RadX Moderator February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 Title is wrong, should be Luxury cars a hit despite because of increase in COE premium it does not affect the higher end, thus the 'despite' lah....or shd it be in spite of Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryn Turbocharged February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 it does not affect the higher end, thus the 'despite' lah....or shd it be in spite of the high COE causes a shift from the lower end of the market towards the higher end....so I would put it as a causative factor. If not for the high COE the B and B cars would still be doing well. From my perspective the insane tax has caused a shift towards the luxury cars. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kar_lover Supercharged February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 My simplified hypothesis is: Now that COE has been cut and gone up drastically (compared to 08/09), those ppl who were originally going to buy camry, accord, m6, etc, have been priced out by high COE and have to "downgrade" to Cat A cos can't afford Cat B. However, their available budget (which was meant for Camry, et al) can buy them the better Cat A cars eg. Golf, Jetta & even Roc hence VW now having good sales figures. Of course VW's fantastic TSI engine and 7 speed DSG prob played a bit part too. Then the other B&B buyers will just buy the standard boring thaiyotas. Worth noting that previously up-and-coming Koreans had poor sales figures in Jan sales and i tink will continue to suffer. Then those left to buy Cat B and Open cars are those rich ppl or company paid cars and with economy doing well last year, they enjoy better income (or better returns from stick market/property flipping, etc.) and so decide to splash out on high end cars. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyrios Turbocharged February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 My son will be a banker next time..no more engineers as swindled by the 'authorities' last time... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zxcvb Turbocharged February 22, 2011 Author Share February 22, 2011 Economy is doing well, so is inflation. People who buy bread n butter cars (altis, wish, civic, lancer, camry) are mostly middle-income group, and they are not buying. On the other hand, rich ppl who buy bmws and mercedes are buying more. super elite rich are buying even more porsches, ferraris and astons martins!! My thoughts are if COE is high, it'll affect everybody. but it'll affect the not-so-rich more. But this doesn't even affect to the rich, in fact is the reverse. It'll be understandable if the sales figure of luxury segments remain the same as before, but instead it soared!! Conclusion... The rich gets richer, the poor and middle-income gets poorer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TandemAssassin 1st Gear February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 Title is wrong, should be Luxury cars a hit despite because of increase in COE premium Damn u beat me to it. Took the words right out of my mouth. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiadaw 6th Gear February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 There might be a group that is quite well to do, actually just wanted a simple car, but seeing the price of Sushi cars at over 100k, they might as well go for Merc or BMW. I seen the california, damn nice looking car, as well as the 458. So not surprising Ferrari going stronger. Once the new lambo launch, you bet a jump for the raging bull as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timex1441 1st Gear February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 that explains the low nos for Mazda and Nissan...... wah piang, only 10 new mazda cars registered in january....like tat how can they survive.... (feeling sad cos i really feel tat mazda is not bad at all) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shicyj Neutral Newbie February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 If COE is so high (Esp for 1600cc and above), not worth buying if the value of the car itself is close to that piece of paper, might as well buy a better car. Those people that are priced out of that range, downgrade to a better car thats below 1600cc and also save on the COE. So cheaper cars above 1600cc are the ones in the sandwich and affected. Now with TSI engines, those below 1600cc cars demand will eventually climb. Market will shift. Those above 1600cc will eventually be labeled as luxury cars. Importers will adjust the models they bring in to cater to such 2 groups. Below 1.6 and above 1.6. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddie 3rd Gear February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 (edited) What a rubbish article. Car registrations dipped 40% because THERE WERE 40% FEWER COES ISSUED! Not because higher COE premiums put off buyers. Reporter obviously knows nuts about the car market. Edited February 22, 2011 by Paddie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darryn Turbocharged February 22, 2011 Share February 22, 2011 What a rubbish article. Car registrations dipped 40% because THERE WERE 40% FEWER COES ISSUED! Not because higher COE premiums put off buyers. Reporter obviously knows nuts about the car market. So what else is new? Try to research and provide informative discussion is not appreciated, so any how write also can pass. But was also wondering on her tax figures...is now 110% right? + 7% gst..... ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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