A new record high of S$146,002 ($106,619; £87,684) has been set in Singapore for the price of a certificate authorizing the purchase of a large family vehicle.
As a congestion-control strategy, the city-state implemented the 10-year certificate of entitlement (COE) system in 1990.
In Singapore, prospective car owners must get a COE before they may buy a car.
They are auctioned off every two weeks, with the government limiting the number of certificates that can be bought.
The arrangement has made Singapore the most costly place in the world to buy a car, thanks to taxes and import charges.
A new basic Toyota Camry Hybrid, for instance, costs about S$250,000 in Singapore, which also includes taxes and the cost of a COE. That costs nearly six times as much as in the US.
Different COEs are available for commercial vehicles, motorbikes, and compact cars.
Due to the post-pandemic recovery driving up demand and in anticipation of the government reducing discounts for the certificates next year, COE prices have reached record highs for several consecutive months.
Since 2020, when there was less of a need for new cars because to the pandemic, the lowest COE for a car has increased by almost quadruple, costing S$104,000.
A record high of S$152,000 was also reached in the so-called “Open” category, which has no limitations on the kinds of vehicles that can be utilized in it.
According to Alice Chang from Toyota Borneo Motors, the high demand for new cars was the reason she had anticipated the increase in COEs’ price.
Customers line up outside our store whenever we have premium cars available, she added.
Singapore consistently ranks as having one of the highest percentages of millionaires in the world, despite being relatively tiny.
However, the COE system implies it may be tough for regular Singaporeans to afford a car with an average wage of roughly S$70,000.
The public transportation system, which has been named one of the greatest in the world, is one that the government is keen to promote to locals.
during S$60 billion was pledged last year to upgrade and extend the nation’s rail system during the following ten years.
At the end of the previous year, the city state, which has a population of about 5.5 million, had just under 1 million private cars on the road.
Depending on how many older vehicles are taken off the road, new COEs may be made available.
