As a congestion-control strategy, Singapore implemented the 10-year certificate of entitlement (COE) system in 1990.

In Singapore, prospective automobile owners must get a COE before they may buy a car. Every two weeks, they are auctioned off, with the government limiting the amount of certificates that may be bought. The arrangement has made Singapore the most costly place in the world to buy a car, thanks to taxes and import charges.

Singapore has moved up four spots from the previous year to claim the fifth-most expensive city title worldwide, according to data published by Swiss private bank Julius Bär.

The Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report evaluates the lives of high-net-worth people (HNWIs) throughout the world using a basket of goods and services. Through this Lifestyle Index, we examine annual changes on a global, regional, and category level and determine their impact on buying power and wealth preservation.

According to the Global Wealth and Lifestyle Report 2022, Singaporean automobiles were also the most expensive in the world. Cars topped the list, as determined by the cost of a BMW X7 obtained from the manufacturer's website for the relevant nation.

car in Singapore is an expensive endeavor

A BMWX7 begins at S$548,888 in Singapore and US$74,900 (S$104,000) in the United States, according to Yahoo Finance Singapore. Owning a car in Singapore is an expensive endeavor. Costs of a few hundred thousand dollars can be expected.

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 automobiles.

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 many consecutive months.

Since 2020, when there was less of a need for new automobiles 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 may be utilized in it.

According to Alice Chang from Toyota Borneo Motors, the high demand for new automobiles was the reason she had anticipated the increase in COEs' price.

Customers line up outside our store whenever we have premium automobiles 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 purchase 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 anxious 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 around 5.5 million, had just under 1 million private automobiles on the road. The number of new COEs available depends on how many older cars are taken off the road.

The global list scales Shanghai at the first place, followed by London and Taipei with most expensive car-buying experiences.

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