Singapore, by virtue of being the southern neighbours of Malaysia has a totally different landscape when it comes to car ownership and fuel prices. One thing for sure, the price of fuel in Singapore differs between every brand.
Competitive market in Singapore
The main reason why fuel prices are different in Singapore is mainly because the government wants to ensure that the market remains competitive. Despite that, the variations are sometimes very minor. This means that the price of one petrol for one brand might differ from the other. The types of petrol that are available and sold in Singapore are mostly:
- RON 92
- RON 95
- RON98
Meanwhile, some brands like Shell do offer a grade higher than all those known as the V-Power Nitro+. Currently, the price of RON 95 petrol ins Singapore is hovering around SGD2.20 per liter. To put that into context, it is more than RM6.00 per liter. This is the reason why Singapore cars are not allowed to have a full tank of petrol when they return to the island from Malaysia.
Car ownership in Singapore
Although Singapore is only a stone’s throw away from Malaysia, car ownership there is very different. In fact, buying a car in Singapore is an extremely expensive affair. The rule of thumb here is that if you buy a car in Singapore, you will need to pay additional costs which could well be costlier than the car price itself.
For comparison’s sake, the cost of owning a Toyota Corolla Altis would cost you slightly more than SGD100,000. On top of that, you will need to pay a lot of other costs to maintain the car. Petrol itself will put you off about SGD 2,500 per year. Besides that, there will be an average of SGD 1,500 for insurance, SGD 750 for road tax and other costs like servicing and such.
How about the purchasing price?
Each model that you intend to buy in Singapore will differ. You will be required to allocate some initial cost prior to buying the car. To put that into context, the more expensive the car is, the more you will need to fork out. If you plan to get a sedan or a small SUV, the initial cost will most likely be slightly more than SGD100,000. A luxury car in Singapore will require you to pay about SGD 180,000 upfront.
What fees are those?
The Singaporean government controls the purchase of cars in the island because they regulate the total number of vehicles there. After all, there would not be enough roads to cater for the cars if this is not controlled. As such, the initial cost to purchase the car is set at a very high level. You will need to first pay for the COE or Certificate of Entitlement to buy the car before even considering the price of the vehicle itself. Other fees you need to pay include the Registration Fee, the Additional Registration Fee and road tax, among others.