Background Story

MARCH: The Additional Registration Fee (ARF), the main car tax, will be cut by 10 percentage points to 100 per cent of the vehicle's open market value.

Likely impact: The cost of cars before factoring the certificate of entitlement (COE) premium should fall. Such reductions will range from $580 for a Chery QQ and $1,500 for a Toyota Corolla to $50,000 for a Rolls-Royce Phantom. The financing charges for car loans should fall correspondingly. The scrap rebate will drop as well, since it is based on a percentage of the ARF.

JULY: Road tax to be cut by 15 per cent for all vehicles.

Likely impact: Annual savings for motorists, cabbies, fleet operators and transport/logistics firms. The savings are estimated at $110 million, or an average of $130 a vehicle per year.

APRIL 2009: The annual vehicle population growth cap will be halved to 1.5 per cent.

Likely impact: Fewer COEs will be available. COE premiums should rise, but the quantum depends on external factors such as the state of the economy and stock market performance. However, the general consensus is that cost of cars will rise.