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Luxury cars in Singapore have fallen as buyers avoid asset estate plays as the government raised taxes on vehicles and increased proper care controls in response to a $ 2 billion money laundering scandal.
The number of new models of Bentley, Ferrari, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce sold in the city-states collapsed with three-quarters last year compared to 2023, as wealthy buyers avoided luxury brands after a damaged money laundering case in which police seized the results of the light vehicles.
“Most of the luxury cars purchased in recent years were from Chinese clients,” said Anson Lee, managing director of the Luxury Trade of EURO ASI. “After the scandal, you are now seeing the market.
“I still have Chinese clients, but they want to keep a low profile, so the whole market has slowed down,” Lee said, adding that his customers preferred more and more electric vehicles.
EV sales have raped, especially for Chinese manufacturer Byd, who was the second best car brand in Singapore last year after only entering the market in 2020.
Byd sales reached 6,191 in 2024, a fourfold increase in a year earlier, while Tesla sales more than doubled to 2,384, according to the figures of the land transport authority.
At the same time, the new sales of Rolls-Royce fell from 95 to 23 last year, while the figure for Ferrari fell from 97 to 29.
Bentley attributed the fall of existing models, with new versions of GT Continental and Flying Spur entering the market only earlier this year. It expects sales to improve with the availability of new cars.
Jaguar, Ferrari and Rolls-Royce refused to comment.
Singapore has seen an influx of wealth in recent years, especially by Chinese nationals, as the Prime Minister of Asia and the Center for Property Management is competing, but the ambitions have also come with danger.
The city-state was shocked two years ago by a money laundering that included individuals connected to a gang from the Fujian province of China. During raids on property across the island, police seized 77 vehicles.
In one property, four cars were seized with a combined $ 4.7 million ($ 3.5 million), including a red Rolls-Royce dawn, a black rolls-Royce, a Porsche 911 red license plates and a white alphaard.
“You see much less Rolls-Royces Red by sailing around Singapore these days,” said one person involved in the case in which 10 individuals were convicted.
Traders said one of the reasons for the fall of new luxury vehicles was that seized cars were being sold again in the market. Singapore Justice Minister K Shanmugam said last month that the government had sold 33 of the seized cars so far.
In response to the scandal, the Singapore government ordered luxury car traders, asset agents and precious stones to control funding resources for their more expensive products and report buyers who suspected that they had criminal ties.
“We have (we always have) to make our proper care for clients, but this has become more sensitive because of the issue of money laundering,” Lee said.
Luxury cars sales have also been hit by a higher tax presented in 2023 to cool what the government perceived as an overheating market coming out of Pandemia Covid-19.
Taxes for the most expensive cars – those price over $ 80,000 – increased to 320 percent from 220 percent. The government also introduced changes to limit the value of car resale.
Another consideration for buyers is the cost of the law certificates, which residents must receive before they are allowed to buy a car. Mimets are based on a bid system to check the number of vehicles on the road.
For the most powerful models, certificates currently cost slightly below 117,000 S, from $ 96,000 s a year ago, but significantly below $ 150,000 S Pricetag in November 2023, reflecting a decline in high -level vehicles.
