Driving in Singapore - Car Market in Singapore

Car Market in Singapore

Car brands are typically sold by only one dealer although there are rare exceptions where two dealers sell the same brand. Several dealers have more than one location. Some dealers sell more than one brand, unlike the situation in some western European countries in the past where some manufacturers prohibited dealers from selling competing brands. Negotiation during car purchases is customary but limited due to the lack of competing dealers.

The limited size of the Singapore market results in some brands not offering the full model line in Singapore. Unlike in Australia, where the U.S. Honda Accord and the Japanese Honda Accord (re-badged as the Acura TSX in the United States) are sold, only the Japanese Honda Accord is sold in Singapore. Some brands, such as Saab and Volvo (except the Volvo S60R) are only offered with automatic transmission even though manual transmission cars are sold in the car's home market.

Although car prices are high, servicing costs are reasonable compared to in the United States and Western Europe from the standpoint of labour charges.

SUV (sport utility vehicles) and pickup trucks are not as common in Singapore as in the United States and Canada. So, pickup trucks in Singapore are relatively high priced compared to other South East Asian countries, and some dealerships do not import any pickup trucks, for example, Nissan Navara and Thai-built Ford Ranger.

Japanese car manufacturers have the largest market share. Some Japanese cars are imported from countries other than Japan. For example, the Toyota Vios is imported from Thailand, whereas the JDM version is called Toyota Belta. Initially the ninth generation Toyota Corolla sold in Singapore was a Japanese model, while the facelift version is a wider and longer Corolla Altis from Thailand.

European car manufacturers are well represented. On the more expensive segment of the market, European cars sold in Singapore include Aston Martin, Ferrari, Rolls Royce, Maserati, and others. Skoda, Fiat, Renault, Peugeot and Citroen are among the less expensive European cars sold in Singapore.

American cars have a low market share. Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles are sold in Singapore, such as the Chrysler 300C, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Dodge Caliber and Jeep Wrangler. Chevrolet markets only Korean-made Daewoo cars, not its American made models. Ford markets some cars from its European line, not its American product line. On the other hand, some Japanese car maker, Subaru's subsidiary, Subaru of Indiana Automotive, has exported the U.S. built Tribeca to Singapore, but was not sold well.

Non-Japanese Asian car brands sold in Singapore include Perodua, Proton, Ssangyong, Hafei Motor, Chery, Geely, Kia, Hyundai, Chana and Holden Special Vehicles.

Used cars that are more than three years cannot be imported into Singapore.

In 2005, there was significant local press coverage of the death of a car saleslady when a customer was involved in a collision during a test drive, reportedly after aggressive driving. The driver's licence was suspended in April 2007 for this incident although the court case was still pending at the time of licence suspension.