Chinese EV boom draws experienced S’pore sales execs from established brands

SINGAPORE – After nearly 11 years working as a salesman at various upmarket European car dealerships, Mr Errol Lim made the switch to join Xpeng, a premium Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brand, at the start of May.

The 43-year-old’s decision was prompted by what he noticed at January’s Singapore Motorshow, where more customers were directly comparing premium European cars with Chinese EVs.

He said the shift comes at a time when European models are increasingly becoming costlier and not offering as many technological and luxury features as the Chinese EVs.

Believing that a turnaround is not likely any time soon, he made the move.

Industry insiders said that in recent months, major car brands have been losing experienced sales staff, mainly to Chinese brands, including at least 12 from a single European car brand in the last two months alone. They said this was more than the typical turnover for that dealership.

Eurokars EV, distributor of Chinese EV brands MG and IM Motors, has added 14 sales staff so far in 2026, beefing up its team of 12 to 26.

Its managing director, Mr Raymond Ng, said the company has been able to recruit experienced sales staff from major European and Asian car brands, and intends to continue expanding as sales volumes rise.

Ms Sng Khai Hing, executive director of Vertex Automotive, distributor of Chinese brands Jaecoo and Omoda, said applications for sales roles have increased by around 20 per cent compared with a year ago, with around half of them being experienced sales staff from the trade.

Ms Sng said the company is cautious not to over-hire, adding that sales volumes need to be able to support the sales workforce.

Mr Lim from Xpeng is among a wave of experienced sales staff who have left established brands as the shift in consumer preference towards Chinese EV brands has affected their earnings.

While Mr Lim declined to reveal his earnings, car sales staff typically draw a nominal basic allowance of less than $300, relying almost entirely on commissions ranging between $1,200 and $2,000 per vehicle sold.

As such, when a brand sells fewer cars, their livelihoods are directly affected.

Some sales staff at European car brands told The Straits Times that their income has dropped by 40 per cent or so compared with 2025. In some cases, they are dipping into their savings to cover living expenses.

A salesman who joined a Chinese EV brand in December 2025 from a European brand said that so far in 2026, his monthly income has risen nearly 50 per cent as he managed to sell more cars than before.

He said that beyond the improved earnings, the Chinese brand also gets a constant stream of walk-in customers, which he found more energising than working in a relatively quiet showroom.

The sales volume of leading brands such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Honda is on the decline, even though they remain among Singapore’s 10 best-selling car brands so far in 2026.

In the first four months of 2026, all three posted dips in registration figures of more than 30 per cent, compared with the same period a year ago.

At another dealership that does not sell Chinese-made cars, a saleswoman who declined to be named because she was not authorised to speak to the media said that from January until mid-May, some colleagues have yet to match their sales numbers from the first three months of 2025, reflecting how business has slowed.

In contrast, Chinese car brands such as BYD, Chery, GAC Aion, MG and Zeekr have all posted significant gains.

In April 2025, BYD was the only Chinese brand to be among the top 10 sellers in Singapore.

Today, there are five Chinese brands in the top 10, crowding out established players such as Kia, Hyundai, Nissan and Mazda.

Chery, with its Omoda and Jaecoo sub-brands, registered 800 cars in the first four months of 2026, up from 120 units during the same period in 2025.

BYD, the biggest-selling brand, registered 4,639 cars in the first four months of 2026, an increase from 3,002 cars during the same period a year ago.

In the first four months of 2026, EVs formed 59.6 per cent of all new car registrations, totalling 10,661 units.

Some sales staff said non-EVs have been negatively affected by the updated Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES) that kicked in on Jan 1. Such cars also do not qualify for the EV Early Adoption Incentive (EEAI).

Then came the revised Preferential Additional Registration Fee (PARF) rebate announced in February’s Budget that hit premium cars particularly hard.

Through the VES and EEAI, an EV buyer can get up to $30,000 in tax rebates, which helps offset the upfront cost of the vehicle. Non-EVs, in contrast, are now subject to higher VES surcharges of up to $35,000.

The PARF rebate – the scrap or residual value when a car is deregistered – is calculated as a percentage of the additional registration fee, or main vehicle tax, that a car owner has paid.

The revision, which applies to all new cars registered on or after Feb 20, reduces the rebate amount by 45 percentage points across the board, and its cap has been halved from $60,000 to $30,000.

This revised cap impacts higher-value, larger models rather than smaller mass-market cars, because of the higher taxes imposed on these costlier cars during registration.

PARF rebates for petrol-hybrid and internal combustion engine cars have been slashed much more than for EVs.

The PARF rebates for EVs were already lower because of the generous tax rebates dished out for such vehicles at registration.

For a car scrapped in its 10th year, the rebate is now 5 per cent of the taxes paid, instead of 50 per cent previously.

As premium cars are taxed more heavily, the plunge in residual paper value drastically increases their lifetime cost of ownership.

Sales staff at various European premium brand dealerships said walk-ins have fallen by between 30 per cent and 50 per cent after the PARF rebate revision.

Mr Rodney Ong, 43, a salesman with Zeekr since late 2024, said that after the PARF revision, his prospective customers are largely comparing among Chinese EV brands, completely bypassing European models.

He said the majority of his customers are trading in BMW and Mercedes-Benz cars, while the others are coming with Japanese cars that are nearing the end of their 10th year.

Mr Alan Low, 50, has been selling MG cars since June 2025 after a brief stint with another dealership.

Describing it as a “volume game”, he said his income has steadily increased along with the growth of the brand.

While there is also more stress that comes with higher sales targets, he noticed clear shifts in consumer preference, particularly at the recent Car Expo on May 9 and 10.

He said Chinese brands were clearly busier than others.

Yet, not everyone is ready to leave the established brands, even as business slows.

A 56-year-old car sales executive, who asked to be unnamed because he is not allowed to speak to the media, said he is choosing to remain loyal to the premium European dealership that he has worked at for a decade.

This is despite his earnings taking a hit of around 40 per cent compared with 2025, as sales volume has dropped from five cars to three or so each month.

He added: “The recent Car Expo sales event should be a wake-up call for the management. Salespeople from the high-end German brands were struggling, while customers flocked to the Chinese car brands.”