COE Watch Podcast

Has pricey car ownership killed youths’ desire for cars?

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox

(From left) Veteran automotive consultant Say Kwee Neng, ST senior transport correspondent Lee Nian Tjoe, and Associate Professor Raymond Ong from National University of Singapore.

(From left) Veteran automotive consultant Say Kwee Neng, ST senior transport correspondent Lee Nian Tjoe, and Associate Professor Raymond Ong from National University of Singapore talks COE, car taxes and car ownership aspirations for the youth.

ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

Google Preferred Source badge

Synopsis: Every third Tuesday of the month, The Straits Times offers expert insights on new vehicles or transportation trends.

In this episode, COE Watch host Lee Nian Tjoe invites Associate Professor Raymond Ong from the National University of Singapore, who wrote an opinion piece published in The Straits Times in August which said that the current price of certificate of entitlement (COE) needed to register a mass-market car is more affordable to households in Singapore today than it was in 2013. His other guest is motor trader-turned-consultant Say Kwee Neng.

Highlights (click/tap above):

6:15 The reality at the showrooms, where the age of car buyers has changed from 10 years ago 

12:05 Car-leasing firms for private hire have changed the game in the demand for COEs

26:20 The danger of the sense of defeatism in youths when cost of a car has reached far beyond their means

35:00 COE and car taxes in deterring ownership “have past a use-by date”

42:00 How much to pay under a distance-based road pricing system or a satellite-based system?

Read Lee Nian Tjoe’s articles: https://str.sg/wt8G

Follow Lee Nian Tjoe on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/iqkJ

Read more COE articles: https://str.sg/iGKC

Produced by: Lee Nian Tjoe (niantjoel@sph.com.sg), Ernest Luis and Teo Tong Kai

Edited by: Teo Tong Kai

Follow COE Watch Podcast here and get notified for new episode drops:

Channel: https://str.sg/iTtE

Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/iqW2

Spotify: https://str.sg/iqgB

Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg

---

Follow more ST podcast channels:

All-in-one ST Podcasts channel: https://str.sg/wvz7

ST Podcast website: http://str.sg/stpodcasts

ST Podcasts YouTube: https://str.sg/4Vwsa

---

Get The Straits Times’ app, which has a dedicated podcast player section:

The App Store: https://str.sg/icyB

Google Play: https://str.sg/icyX

See more on