Tesla’s electric car sales surge in Singapore

US electric car maker Tesla proved to be widely popular among Singapore car buyers in September, latest data by the city-state’s Land Transport Authority data released on October 29 showed.
Tesla’s Model 3, an electric fastback mid-size four-door sedan, brought the number of Teslas sold in Singapore to 517 units in the third quarter, up from 30 in the first half of the year. Tesla became the country’s sixth-most popular car brand in September.
This is astounding in a market which is one of the world’s most expensive places to buy and own a car, because new vehicle registration is tightly controlled to manage pollution and traffic in the small nation.
In comparison, while the Tesla 3 standard model costs around $44,000 in the US, the price tag in Singapore reaches nearly $150,000 including all taxes and additional ownership fees.
Green car purchases encouraged
The US company started selling its Model 3 in Singapore in February when it opened a dedicated web portal on the island. Singapore is providing incentives to encourage drivers to buy environmentally-friendly cars as it aims to reach net zero emissions as soon as viable.
Even so, buying a car in Singapore is expensive because drivers must pay excise and registration duties that are more than double the vehicle’s market value. They must also bid for a limited number of car-ownership permits that are auctioned by the government, which allow drivers to own a car for ten years.
Phasing out fossil fuel-powered cars
Singapore plans to phase out fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2040 and would no longer allow diesel cars or taxis to be registered starting from 2025 as part of its efforts to reduce emissions. To support that drive, the government plans to install 60,000 charging points at public car parks and private premises by 2030, an increase from a previous target of 28,000.
Singapore had 2,243 electric cars on its roads at the end of September, 84 per cent more than at the end of 2020, according to the Land Transport Authority. Still, that accounts of just 0.3 per cent of the city-state’s cars, but the share is growing steadily.
[caption id="attachment_37741" align="alignleft" width="300"] Singapore is one of the world's most expensive car markets[/caption] US electric car maker Tesla proved to be widely popular among Singapore car buyers in September, latest data by the city-state’s Land Transport Authority data released on October 29 showed. Tesla’s Model 3, an electric fastback mid-size four-door sedan, brought the number of Teslas sold in Singapore to 517 units in the third quarter, up from 30 in the first half of the year. Tesla became the country’s sixth-most popular car brand in September. This is astounding in a market which is one of the world’s...

US electric car maker Tesla proved to be widely popular among Singapore car buyers in September, latest data by the city-state’s Land Transport Authority data released on October 29 showed.
Tesla’s Model 3, an electric fastback mid-size four-door sedan, brought the number of Teslas sold in Singapore to 517 units in the third quarter, up from 30 in the first half of the year. Tesla became the country’s sixth-most popular car brand in September.
This is astounding in a market which is one of the world’s most expensive places to buy and own a car, because new vehicle registration is tightly controlled to manage pollution and traffic in the small nation.
In comparison, while the Tesla 3 standard model costs around $44,000 in the US, the price tag in Singapore reaches nearly $150,000 including all taxes and additional ownership fees.
Green car purchases encouraged
The US company started selling its Model 3 in Singapore in February when it opened a dedicated web portal on the island. Singapore is providing incentives to encourage drivers to buy environmentally-friendly cars as it aims to reach net zero emissions as soon as viable.
Even so, buying a car in Singapore is expensive because drivers must pay excise and registration duties that are more than double the vehicle’s market value. They must also bid for a limited number of car-ownership permits that are auctioned by the government, which allow drivers to own a car for ten years.
Phasing out fossil fuel-powered cars
Singapore plans to phase out fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2040 and would no longer allow diesel cars or taxis to be registered starting from 2025 as part of its efforts to reduce emissions. To support that drive, the government plans to install 60,000 charging points at public car parks and private premises by 2030, an increase from a previous target of 28,000.
Singapore had 2,243 electric cars on its roads at the end of September, 84 per cent more than at the end of 2020, according to the Land Transport Authority. Still, that accounts of just 0.3 per cent of the city-state’s cars, but the share is growing steadily.