Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore is a sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia. Singapore's territory consists of one main island along with 62 other islets.
This densely populated island (total size is 130 km2) hs a strond greening policy.
Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub and ranks 5th on the UN Human Development Index and the 3rd highest GDP per capita. It is ranked highly in education, healthcare, life expectancy, quality of life, personal safety and housing. The country has also been identified as a tax haven.
Chapter 1: Economic and business environment
| Demographics | 5.535.000 people |
|---|---|
| Capital | Singapore |
| Languages | Mandarin Chinese (cmn), English (en-SG), Malay (macrolanguage) (ms-SG), Tamil (ta-SG), Chinese (zh-SG) |
| GDP | 52,888.74 USD (2015) |
| Unemployment rate | 1.9% (2014) |
| Main industries | GDP Composition by Sector: Industrial Production Growth Rate: Industries: |
| Currency | SGD Singapore dollar |
| Interest rate | 0,75% |
| Political key info | Singapore is a unitary multiparty parliamentary republic. |
| Inflation | 0.40% (2017) |
Chapter 2 : Automotive market, segments & sales
| Total Car park | 149 cars per 1000 inhabitants |
|---|
Chapter 4: Taxation & legislation
| 4.1 Car Taxation | A 17.000$ Mitsubishi will cost you over 100.000$ in Singapore. Here's the reason : There are 5 main factors that would determine the price of a brand new car in Singapore. They are the Open Market Value (OMV), the Additional Registration Fee (ARF), Excise Duty & GST, Certificate of Entitlement (COE), and local dealers’ margin. (1) Open Market Value (OMV) This is the baseline guide to the original price of the car. (2) Additional Registration Fee (ARF) The ARF is a form of tax imposed on all cars during registration. The ARF is calculated based on the OMV of the vehicle (First $20,000 : 100% of OMV - Next $30,000 (i.e. between $20,001 to $50,000) : 140% of OMV - Above $50,000 : 180% of OMV) (3) Excise Duty And GST The Excise Duty on cars in Singapore is 20% of OMV. Once the Excise Duty of 20% is added to the OMV, a further 7% GST will be tax on both the amount for the OMV and Excise Duty. (4) Certificate Of Entitlement (COE) The COE is “market-driven” certificate that allows a car to be driven on Singapore road for 10 years. COE prices can increase steeply during period of high car demand, which in turn cause prices of cars to increase. COE prices are currently between $40,000 to $50,000. (5) Dealers’ Margin Dealers’ margin could range from as little as about 15% for affordable brands to as high as 50% or more for luxury car brands. |
| 4.2 Income tax – Taxable persons | Private and public persons are taxed rather low in Singapore. E.g. for expats, not participating in the Singaporean pension fund system, the income tax can be as low as 6% |
| 4.3 Company car | It remains very unusual to give company cars in Singapore & honestly, there's no reason to give one. Cars are expensive, but public transport is excellent, taxis are cheap and Uber is an even cheaper alternative |
| 4.4 Income taxes – drivers’ personal taxation | |
| 4.5 Electric vehicles | Singapore is a tech and innovation country, however, you'll hardly see fully electrical vehicles such as Tesla. An interesting case is the very first Tesla registered in Singapore : rather than receiving tax discounts, the car was tested and found to have a carbon emission level liable for a $15,000 tax surcharge - making it the first electric car to be penalised this way. In the meanwhile, 2 additional Tesla's have been registered in Singapore and have recieved tax discounts from the Land Transport Authority (LTA), but in one word : it's still not very clear what Singapore's position is towards EV's. |
| 4.6 Future developments | |
| 4.7 Legal background (import taxes) |
Chapter 5: Car policies
Company car entitlement
Almost no company cars in Singapore. Expats will often be allowed a transport allowance.
Which sectors provide most fleet cars?
Car industry
Which job funtions often include a company car?
In general, only sales reps, delivery people and high-up management. In the car industry (dealers, OEM's, leasing companies), sales reps and account managers will also receive a company car
Reference cars
| Entry/junior level | Toyota, Hyundai |
| Senior sales/ Management level | Toyota, Mazda |
| Executive level | Volkswagen Passat, Audi A4, Mercedes A, B, C, high end Toyota |
