Given the far fewer potential customers willing (and able) to part with US$1.4m for a car, it should not be surprising that absolute demand here is miniscule compared to other markets where taxes are much lower. I doubt that Singapore needs or gets a special allocation as such. "Free" airfreight is anything but free here as the incremental cost of airfreight (over normal seafreight) is subject to the same 180% tax as would any other factory fitted option. That works out to US$24,000 all in.
What's the import duty on parts? Is there a way to skirt option taxes by adding then after the fact, like carbon fiber interior from macarbon rather than OEM options?
What's the import duty on parts? Is there a way to skirt option taxes by adding then after the fact, like carbon fiber interior from macarbon rather than OEM options?
The F12 actually had a one year waiting list as the dealer's allocation for the first year had been sold out. The incremental tax increase of 80% was announced in March and took everyone by surprise. Besides the tax hike, buyers can only loan up to 50% of the price of the car. This has effectively killed the car market. In particular for cars like Ferrari, Lambo, McLaren, RR, customers now have to pay more than US200,000 upwards just for the tax increase. Fortunately a hand full of customers who were the first few managed to get their cars before the tax hike. Many have cancelled since. Car showrooms are like ghost towns. So for the few who want their cars even after the tax increase end up getting their deliveries move forward. Many of us are piss off with this new tax as we had already been paying 120% in the past.
Except for cars, alcohol, and tobacco, Singapore is a duty free port. There is no import duty on parts, only 7% GST/VAT upon importation. It is much cheaper to retrofit aftermarket parts than having them fitted at the factory. Wheels, external and engine bay CF trims are obvious candidates for aftermarket fitment, but I would think long and hard about taking the interior apart to install CF bits. Luckily for me, I do not like CF. Even my LED steering wheel has no CF.
I imagine resale of a "spare parts" special would be tricky. I wouldn't want to drive it. It would be cheaper to buy the car in Switzerland, keep it there in a secured garage, and fly over every couple of months and drive the hell out of it in Germany, France, and Italy.
Are even low-end cars taxed to such an extreme? Does no one drive in Singapore? I can't imagine regular income people can afford $40-50K Honda Civics and such.
Funnily enough, too many people in Singapore drive. Car ownership, along with home ownership, is one of the most important goals in this land scarce island. For the vast majority of car buyers, this means paying off a 10 year car loan. Until the end of February, all cars regardless of CIF value were subject to a Registration Fee (ARF)of 100%. In their quest to further limit the population of cars, the Government introduced a tiered Registration Fee system where the first S$20k/US$16k continued to attract the old 100% ARF, the next S$30k/US$24k 140%, and 180% on everything above S$50k/US$40k. This ARF is in addition to 30% import duty, 7% GST, annual road tax based on the CC of the engine, and the COE. This last item currently runs S$65k/US$51k for cars with less than 1.6 liters. Bottomline is that US$50k doesn't even buy a piece of paper (COE), let alone a Honda Civic.
Go big or go home, right? For the price, at least they got the colours right for the test drive (Canadian and Singapore flags are red and white).
THe pricing is obviously very high due to taxes but , what happens to older cars if one has a 10 yr car loan can a 10 year old car be registered in singapore?? If not I guess you have to sell it to a foreign buyer??
When cars reach 10 years of age, the owner has the option of buying another 5 or 10 year COE (which is merely the right to use a car for that period) at the then prevailing price to keep it on the road. Very few bother, as cars here are quite an important status symbol. Having new wheels is quite important for the image. Nothing says loser louder than a 10 year old car. When cars are de-registered and exported, the owner gets a partial refund of the Registration Fee (ARF) and a prorated refund of the COE. The younger the car, the larger the ARF refund. As a result of this system, the average age of the car population is about 5 years, although this has been going up because of high and rising COE prices in recent years. Singapore cars are quite sought after for parts in third world markets because they tend to be well maintained and relatively young.
I wonder how many F12's are being delivered to Singapore in the next while... I suspect a few! Even with the price tag. Singapore, my favorite Asian city, but dang cost of vehicle ownership is on an entirely new level. My friend just purchased a 612 Scag and it cost him near $650k.
Currently depreciation for a 458/Gallardo/12C in Singapore ranges from US$ 80,000 to $120,000 for the first year. I project with the new taxes, this will increase from a min of US$130,000. For F12 and Aventador we are talking about at least US$200,000 per year under the new taxes in the first year. The new taxes just dealt a blow to any thoughts of buying a nice car in the future. I can think of a million other things to do with that money instead of donating it to our government.
The first F12 was delivered at the end of March, and #12, 13, & 14 will hit the road by the end of June. I do not know how many dropped out or rescheduled after the big tax increase in Feb, but I suspect that the backlog should clear earlier than originally projected.
Peter if you are expecting delivery in June and it's your first ferrari, than you can imagine how many have dropped out. Last i heard they had 50 orders and there is obviously more than 14 customers who are regular customers who have bought at least a couple of ferraris in the past. Most customers who will register their cars before 31st March will still be paying old prices. Those taking deliveries after 31st Feb onwards are the ones having to pay the increase in taxes.
Some insight into Singapore's car prices with a Hollywood twist: Clip of Fast & Furious 6 stars' shock over local car prices goes viral
My F12 has just arrived in the port of Singapore this afternoon, having left La Spezia on 28 May. Counting down the 14 days to delivery. Woo hoo.
