SINGAPORE - When 39-year-old Alphonsus Tan and his wife welcomed their third child earlier this year, the couple realised it was time to swop their Toyota Corolla for a bigger family car.

Mr Tan, who is self-employed, seized the chance to look at the many options on offer at the Cars@Expo 2022 show on Saturday (Aug 13), the event's first day.

The two-day show is being held at the Singapore Expo halls 3B and 4 from 10am to 8pm.

The Cars@Expo, usually an annual affair, returned after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It marks the resumption of large-scale, in-person motoring events and is the largest car exhibition in scale in Singapore since the Government eased safe distancing measures.

The last show was held on Oct 5 and 6, 2019. Organisers this year expect 80,000 visitors in total.

Said Mr Tan: "This event is very timely. I have been looking for a family car, like a sport utility vehicle (SUV), but I have not had the time to go around to the different showrooms. I'm not going to purchase (a car) today, but I have been to a few booths... and have a better idea of what I want."

Organised by SPH Media, Cars@Expo, which is free to visitors, features 150 new and pre-owned cars and 29 exhibitors from 36 brands, including Audi, BMW, Seat, Honda, Kia, Jaguar, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

Many visitors arrived early to snag attractive deals for cars and motoring accessories. There are also giveaways for attendees.

More than $35,000 worth of freebies are up for grabs on each day of the event. On Saturday, freebies reserved for the first 1,000 visitors were snapped up by 11am, said the organisers.

Mr M. Tiru Malai Maaran, 28, who had learnt about the show from the radio, turned up to check out the various electric vehicles (EV) on offer.

For the first time, exhibitors include fully electric vehicle makers, such as Swedish brand Polestar, British brand MG and Chinese brand BYD, the world's largest EV manufacturer.

Mr Tiru said: "There has been plenty of talk and push for people to get EVs. I have thought about it and when I heard there were EV makers with booths here, I thought it was a good chance for me to clear some doubts that I have."

While adult visitors were immersed in an automotive wonderland, a dedicated corner kept children entertained with a movie-screening marathon and colouring activities.

Visitors were not the only ones who welcomed the return of the car exhibition. Retailers were just as pleased to take part in a physical fair.

Mr Theophane Chan, a sales manager at Performance Motors, an official dealership for BMW, said it was a good feeling to be back at a car expo.

The 41-year-old said: "As car retailers, you always want to be involved in these shows. Over the last two years, we had to promote (the cars) through digital avenues or do road shows at shopping malls. But in the malls, the people are not there to look for a car, whereas here, the likelihood is that they are here because they are looking to buy a car."

The buzz at Cars@Expo did not surprise some retailers even as prices for certificates of entitlement (COE) have remained high.

The premium for the Open category COE, which tends to be used for larger cars, set new highs twice in a row in July. At the last tender on Aug 3, it ended at $113,000, a dip of just 0.9 per cent from the record high of $114,001.

Due to the high price of new cars, pre-owned ones are in favour, said Mr Alan Ng, a sales manager at used car dealer Cosmo Automobiles. By 2pm on Saturday, his company had sold at least 10 cars.

Mr Ng added: "The demand for pre-owned cars has been good. Despite rising COE prices, when you need a car, you will still buy it.

"So the best option in the current market is a used car."

But Performance Motors' Mr Chan said sellers of new cars do benefit from taking part in car shows, as exhibitors can give prospective customers value for their money.

He said: "There will always be people who want to change their cars. We have various ways to help the customer to overcome (the higher) pricing. These are not limited to add-ons but also things like leasing packages to defray the costs."

For frequent car show visitors such as Mr Hairil Ali, 42, who is looking to replace his eight-seater Toyota Estima Aeras, being at such events is thrilling.

The civil servant, who last attended Cars@Expo in 2019, said: "Everything you need as a car buyer is here and maybe the only thing that I wish for at a show is to be able to test-drive a car.

"COE prices are not going down any time soon, so I might as well look at selling my car while I still can and see what the newer options are in the market."