Singapore is a city-state, with relatively limited space, and so there is a quota system for having a car. And small models require a certificate that costs almost $100,000.
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10/07/2026
by
News to Minutes
Din 1990 the Singapore has a system of car quotas, in order to keep under control the number of cars on the roads – which should be around one million.
Regular certificates are issued that allow you to own a car for ten years. Now, who buys a small car in that asian nation, you'll have to pay $199,000 singapore (more than EUR 87,400) at the current exchange rate).
This is the new highest certificate record, reached at the July auction. In question are models that are not 100 percent electric with engines whose cylinders are less than 1.6 liters – which have been gaining strong popularity since the pandemic. Electrics with power up to 150 hp are also covered.
By May, the Transport Minister had already made it known that the availability of certificates was falling.
Reuters gives the example of a Toyota Corolla: in Singapore, costs the equivalent of about eur 122 thousand with certificate, taxes and expenses. In Portugal, the prices of small Japanese hatchback begin in eur 32.810.
Though tall, the certificate price for smaller cars is 16 percent below the annual average wage of a family living in Singapore.
The certificates for larger models are even more expensive, being above the $100,000 bar since 2023: in July, they reached $130,889 from Singapore (almost 88,700 euros).
This month's auction had 1,244 certificates for smaller cars and 867 for larger models, ending up having 1,207 and 863 successful applications, respectively.