Singapore charges $120,000 to own a car

In this city, drivers have to pay $120,000 for the right to own a car — and that doesn’t include the car.

The cost to own a car in Singapore has skyrocketed. Picture: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

The cost to own a car in Singapore, one of the world’s most expensive cities, has skyrocketed and now costs drivers a minimum of almost $120,000.

The city-state’s 10-year Certificate of Entitlement, a licence people must purchase before they’re allowed to buy a vehicle, has hit an all-time high.

The licence now costs a record $119,600 (104,000 Singapore dollars) just for the basic option — more than four times what it cost in 2020, according to figures from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority.

The eye-watering price only buys the right to purchase an ordinary, Category A car, with a small to medium sized engine of 1600cc or below — a Toyota Corolla, for example.

If a resident wants something bigger, like an SUV, they’ll to fork out $167,900 (146,000 Singapore dollars) for the Category B licence group.

Cars on a street in Singapore in 2018. Picture: Pita Simpson/Getty Images

Singapore introduced its licence quota system in 1990 in an attempt to minimise traffic and reduce emissions in the densely populated city-state, which is home to about 5.5 million people.

Bizarrely, the certificate is obtained through a bidding system, in which hopeful car-buyers bid for the right to own one, hence the skyrocketing price.

The cost of the licences means vehicle ownership is out of reach for many Singapore residents, given the city-state’s median household income in 2022 was $11,610 (10,099 Singapore dollars) a month.

Singapore is the most expensive city in the world for wealthy people. Picture: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Earlier this year, Singapore became the most expensive city in the world to be a wealthy person, overtaking cities including Hong Kong, London and New York for the very first time.

Cars and essential insurance in Singapore are 133% and 109% more expensive than the global average, according to Julius Baer’s Global Wealth and Lifestyle report.

The city-state also has the third-largest population of millionaires per capita in the world — 12.7 per cent of adults in Singapore are classed as millionaires, just behind Switzerland (15.5 per cent) and Hong Kong (15.3 per cent).

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Originally published as Singapore charges $120,000 to own a car