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SINGAPORE - Retiree Steven Chia placed an order for a Mercedes-Benz GLB from authorised agent Cycle & Carriage last September, and waited seven months for it to be delivered - more than double the usual time. Mr Chia, 62, said: "I was supposed to collect my car last December or January this year, but I was told that because of the Covid-19 lockdowns and the war in Ukraine, shipment was delayed. I finally got my car on April 23." For motorists looking to buy a new car, be prepared to wait - possibly as long as Mr Chia, if not longer. Carmakers reeling from supply chain disruptions brought about by the pandemic are now facing another whammy - the prolonged war in Ukraine. The Eastern European country invaded by Russia in February is a major supplier of automotive parts - from electronic components to seats to wire harnesses, which bundle kilometres of electrical wires in a vehicle. The conflict is disrupting production, and this is affecting more than a dozen vehicle manufacturers, including Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, BMW and Renault. Unlike the chip shortage, which manufacturers could overcome by leaving out certain features, a vehicle cannot be assembled without wire harnesses. While Japanese and Korean manufacturers are less affected, the war also has other indirect consequences like raw material costs, which is impacting the entire industry. Associate Professor Tan Yan Weng, head of the Logistics and Supply Chain Management Programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences' (SUSS) School of Business, said car buyers can expect delays of new model launches as well as longer delivery timelines. "For certain makes of cars, a lead time of three months may now be six to eight months," said Prof Tan. A senior manager at a major dealership said: "Almost every other month, there's an update of production delay or new model launch delay. Everything is so fluid. "It is still manageable now as we have ample existing stock to sell. But things may worsen towards the last quarter of the year." Volkswagen Group Singapore managing director Ricky Tay said the company currently has a "sufficient supply of cars to cater to sales". "It is a blessing in disguise because demand has fallen with high COE prices," said Mr Tay, but he admitted there was uncertainty ahead. He reckons that electric cars are bearing the brunt of the supply chain disruption, echoing what Volkswagen Group chief executive Herbert Diess has said. Mr Diess said in a recent interview with Financial Times that the economic risks posed by the Russian-Ukraine war were "very much worse" than those posed by the pandemic. His German counterparts, however, were more coy when asked about the impact the latest supply chain crisis had on the Singapore car market. An Audi Singapore spokesman said two new electric models due to be launched next year are now "pushed back by two years". Two other models - the SQ7 and SQ8 - which were due here in the first quarter of this year are also slightly delayed. But she said the latter was not because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but because of another ongoing supply chain disruption: insufficient shipping capacity. Other new car arrivals that are delayed include the Toyota Corolla Cross (from third quarter to fourth) and the BMW 8-series range (second quarter to third). BMW Group Asia managing director Lars Nielsen said: "The war in Ukraine is impacting the country's automotive supply industry. Combined with the ongoing semiconductor bottlenecks, these supply limitations can lead to production adjustments and downtimes at our European plants. "While we do not foresee any immediate impact on our business in Singapore, we are faced with a positive challenge of more demand than supply." A Daimler South East Asia spokesman said delays in the delivery of Mercedes-Benz cars here cannot be ruled out. "In Singapore, we are working intensively with our authorised dealer Cycle & Carriage to ensure our customers receive their new vehicle as soon as possible. However, since the situation remains volatile, partial delivery time shifts for individual vehicle models cannot be ruled out completely." Porsche admitted that there is a longer waiting time for delivery of some models, but did not elaborate. "We view the armed conflict in Ukraine with great concern, and the degree of impact on our business activities is still continuously determined by experts in a task force team in Germany," said a spokesman for Porsche Asia Pacific. Ms Jasmmine Wong, chief executive of Toyota and Suzuki dealer Inchcape Greater China and Singapore, said customers who bought two recently launched models - the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid and Lexus NX450h+ - will experience a "slightly longer waiting time". "We still have stock for customers who do not insist on certain colours," she said, but otherwise, the wait will be "three to four months" versus "one to two months" previously. Ms Wong added that the delay is not because of Ukraine, but the ongoing supply chain disruption. Over at Tesla Singapore, there is still no word on when the Model Y will go on sale here despite the car having been inspected and approved for sale by the Land Transport Authority back in early January. It is understood that the delay is because of Shanghai's latest Covid-19 lockdown in March. Tesla registered only one car in April - down from a monthly average of 60 units in the first quarter, and around 150 a month when it started delivering cars from July last year. Source: Straits Times

Title : Track fault causes delay on East-West Line By : Date : 08 January 2012 1304 hrs (SST) URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1175448/1/.html SINGAPORE: Train services on the Circle Line between Marymount and Botanic Gardens were disrupted Sunday afternoon due to a signalling fault. SMRT said on its Twitter site at about 3.00 pm that service was back to normal. A commuter told Channel NewsAsia that he was at Serangoon station when he heard an announcement that there would be "no train service" between Marymount and Farrer Road stations. He said he understands that commuters had to get off at Marymount station because the train could not proceed to Farrer Road station. He said commuters were advised to find alternative transport. Separately, train services on the East-West Line between Boon Lay and Joo Koon were also delayed Sunday afternoon due to a track fault. At about 2.00 pm, SMRT said the track fault had cleared and services on all lines were operating normally but urged commuters to allow extra time for travel due to wet tracks. SMRT told Channel NewsAsia that the problem started at about 12.30 pm on Sunday. At about 1.00 pm, SMRT said east-bound and west-bound services between Boon Lay and Joo Koon were slightly delayed due to a track fault. Some commuters were asked to alight from one of the trains at Lakeside station as a precaution. Commuters had to wait an extra two minutes for the trains. Callers to the Channel NewsAsia reported similar delays. One commuter, Stanley, said he was at City Hall station when he heard the announcement at about 12.40 pm of a delay in service. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/sin...1175448/1/.html

Link RETIRE at 55 and enjoy what life has to offer. William (not his real name) had it all worked out. But his son's gambling debts has scuttled everything he had worked for. The 60-year-old once dreamt he would be kicking back by age 55. But now, by his own calculations, even retiring at 67 might be a stretch. His son owes $40,000 in credit card debts and $2,000 in loans from licensed moneylenders. These arose from gambling losses, part of which were incurred at a local casino. William, an administrator in the education industry, is among those suffering from the effects of problem gambling. He is still lending his son, an executive in the IT industry in his 30s, money to pay the minimum sum on his credit cards. William and his wife, a 60-year-old housewife, live with their bachelor son in a condominium unit. William, who requested anonymity, told The New Paper on Sunday over the phone: "In this situation, because my son still comes to me for financial help... I might be able to retire only at 65 or 67. "I need to continue working to build up my retirement fund. It has been depleted because I lent (my son) moneyto pay off his debts over many years." William said that his son David (not his real name) lost $10,000 at the Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) casino after just six weeks of its opening here last year. David spent most his weekends at RWS, lured by the spinning wheels and rolling dice. He would take the light rail system there. And if he was impatient to hit the tables, he would take a taxi. William, who does not gamble, said: "It was very convenient. My son just needed to cross the bridge to Sentosa." The daily levy of $100 was no deterrent. Instead, it encouraged David to stay overnight in the casino to make full use of the levy's 24-hour validity. His losses led to arguments at home when he asked his parents for help. William said: "As parents, we will help in any way we can, but my son and I often ended up arguing for hours. "Casinos create a vibrant, beautiful and colourful environment that entices gamblers. Although the target is tourists, some locals have become collateral damage." After his six weeks of losses, David decided that it was best to self-exclude himself from the casinos.

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