SINGAPORE – Mr John Goh was looking for a good bargain at The Car Expo on April 13.
The 62-year-old semi-retired property agent purchased a compact electric crossover BYD Atto 3 at the show which has a listed price of $164,888 – with non-guaranteed certificate of entitlement (COE) – to replace his Toyota Altis of almost 10 years.
The Atto 3 typically costs $234,888 with COE, which is a certificate that gives one the right to own and use a vehicle in Singapore.
Having placed his deposit of $16,489 for his new car, Mr Goh said he “felt the pinch” given the high COE premiums.
But those who need a car now have little choice, he added.
There were 20 per cent more sale transactions at the show on April 13 compared with the first day of the previous edition of The Car Expo on Oct 14, 2023, said organiser SPH Media, which publishes The Straits Times.
The two-day event runs till April 14, from 10am to 8pm, at Singapore Expo Halls 4 and 5.
Mr Goh was among the steady stream of prospective car buyers who were there on the first day of the event.
The Car Expo 2024 is the biggest post-Covid-19 edition of the show, with 41 brands showcased and 34 booths in 17,000 sq m of floor space.
Among the 10 fresh entrants to the show is Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker GAC Aion, which garnered strong interest among visitors, including network engineer Jordan Ng.
Mr Ng, 29, said he wanted to find out more about the brand, since he knew other EV brands like Tesla and BYD but was not familiar with GAC Aion.
He was checking out the Chinese manufacturer’s electric crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) model Aion Y Plus.
However, he added that he would not consider getting an EV in the near future as the charging infrastructure is not readily available in Ang Mo Kio, where he lives.
Mr Ernest Tan, the director of new ventures at Vincar, the authorised distributor of GAC Aion, said sales were “pretty decent” as at 3.30pm, as there had been “quite a bit of momentum” since the EV brand launched about a week ago on April 5.
He added that models Aion ES and Aion Hyper HT – which were on display but not for sale at the show – received some attention from the visitors.
Only the Aion Y Plus is available for purchase at the show.
When ST visited the GAC Aion booth at around 3pm, the Aion Hyper HT – a mid-sized SUV with falcon wing doors that open upwards, similar to those on a Tesla Model X – had small crowds gathering around to watch live demonstrations of its doors opening.
The BYD, Honda and Toyota booths also drew interest from visitors.
A spokesperson for Kah Motor, the authorised distributor of Honda, noted that the Honda booth had been seeing steady crowds since the show opened its doors at 10am.
A spokesperson for Vantage Automotive, the authorised distributor of BYD, said business was quite brisk, with the crowd being “quite encouraging”.
Acknowledging the high COE prices, he said many prospective customers are out to window-shop at the show to shortlist choices for their next car, as some of them will be scrapping their cars in the next one to two years.
Mr Norman Aziz, 47, was one of the window shoppers comparing deals at the show.
The aviation executive said he was exploring options for a six-seater car within his budget, such as the Honda Freed, given the recent addition of two children to his family.
Adding that COE prices are still manageable for him, Mr Norman said he can use the value of his existing car to reduce the outlay for his next car.
Ms Lily Lee, a 52-year-old accountant, was looking at possible options for her next car as in about four years, the COE of her current vehicle expires.
In the latest tender exercise on April 3, the COE premium for larger cars stood at $101,334, while that for the Open category – which can be used for any vehicle type except motorcycles, but is used mostly for bigger cars – closed at $101,002.
The price of COEs for smaller, less powerful cars was $89,000.
