Year In Review: Top Stories That Shaped Singapore’s Automotive Landscape In 2023

What a year it has been, with the world still reeling from the effects of post-pandemic inflation. Right here in Singapore, the fact that we could travel freely is celebration-worthy. Be it a short border crossing up North or a long haul flight 14,000km away - it’s moments like these that made us realise the importance of exploration and freedom.

For us drivers in this island nation, the picture painted in 2023 has not entirely been a fairytale. In fact, touring Singapore via public transport has never made more sense than before, which speaks volumes of how things have shaped out. Without doubt, car ownership has become more expensive in Singapore. But on the flipside, brands have chosen Singapore to launch unique ideas - concepts not many markets have experienced.

Without further ado, let’s summarise the key talking points this year before we head into 2024 slapped with 9% GST!

Revised Additional Registration Fees (ARF) tiers during Budget 2023 announcement

Surely announcements like these won’t have a fairytale ending, right? Yes - ARF rates were adjusted by up to 100%. Cars with an Open Market Value (OMV) of more than S$40,000 (and less than S$60,000) had to stomach an ARF that’s 190% of its OMV. Naturally, we came up with a list of cars not affected by this revision, and also our best pick of cars in Cat A under S$40k OMV. You’ll realise how fast brands have re-strategised to accommodate this additional tax post-annoucement…

New distributors alert

While the tail end of 2022 saw an additional BMW dealership enter the fray, 2023 was the year arguably less prominent brands (at least in Singapore’s context) aim to secure a slice of the pie. Alfa Romeo is now represented by Capella Auto, newcomers AION and ORA will be distributed by Vincar and Cycle & Carriage respectively, and Vertex Automobile has secured rights to distribute Chery. You can even buy a BYD from Motor-East Pte Ltd, an authorised dealer in Toa Payoh. Big congratulations to them - but judging by how fast consumer tastes change, the next point suggests that much more is needed to strike a rich vein of form…

Lifestyle the name of the game

Porsche kicked off 2023 proper with an exhibition in conjunction with Singapore Art Week, followed by a brand space at Mandala Club. Singapore was chosen as a major city by Audi to present their future (for free) at the ArtScience Museum, and the Mercedes-Benz Concept Store proved a strong statement of (sustainable) intent. Even Toyota’s new showroom looks like a shopping mall now, and you can take delivery of a Hyundai in the same building that will soon house a Korean fusion farm-to-table restaurant. And the coolest of them all? Sample a BYD-themed cuisine before going for a test drive. Driving only forms part of the equation, eh?

ERP 2.0 and record COE premiums

We had to pinch ourselves in October when the industry was slapped with a double whammy. Cat B COE exceeded S$150k - a record we were most not looking forward to. Furthermore, news of chunkier On-Board Units / OBUs being rolled out gradually as part of ERP 2.0 only served as a reminder that distance-based charging (although plans for this are on hold) can be activated in a snap of a finger. Oh well, at least we can still find relatively affordable pre-loved cars on Carousell’s used car classifieds.

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