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Sales of luxury cars in Singapore fell sharply as buyers avoided displays of wealth after the government raised taxes on vehicles and strengthened due diligence checks in response to the $2 billion money laundering scandal.
The number of new Bentley, Ferrari, Jaguar and Rolls-Royce models for sale in city-states fell three-quarters last year compared to 2023.
“Most of the luxury cars I’ve purchased in recent years have been from Chinese customers,” said Anson Lee, managing director of luxury car dealership Euro Performance Asia. “After the scandal, you are now seeing the market stagnate.
“I still have Chinese customers, but they want to keep them unobtrusive, so the whole market slowed down,” Lee said, adding that his customers are increasingly preferring electric vehicles.
EV sales have skyrocketed, especially in Chinese manufacturer BYD. It was Singapore’s second-best selling car brand last year after entering the market in 2020.
According to Land Transport Bureau figures, BYD sales reached 6,191 in 2024, a four-fold increase in the previous year, while Tesla’s sales reached 2,384 times.
At the same time, sales for the new Rolls-Royce fell from 95 to 23 last year, while Ferrari’s figures fell from 97 to 29. The number of new Jaguars has almost halved, with Bentley sales dropping from 58 to 25.
Bentley has declined to runouts of existing models, considering a new version of the Continental GT and a Flying Spur will only enter the market earlier this year. Sales are expected to improve due to the availability of new cars.
Jaguar, Ferrari and Rolls-Royce declined to comment.
In recent years, Singapore has seen an influx of wealth, particularly from the Chinese people. They compete for Asia’s best assets and wealth management hubs, but their ambitions are also risky.
The city-state was shaken two years ago by a money laundering incident involving individuals linked to gangs in China’s Fujian Province. During the raid of property across the island, police seized 77 vehicles.
Four cars totaling S$4.7 million (US$3.5 million) have been confiscated at one facility. These include the Red Rolls-Royce Dawn, Black Rolls-Royce Cullinan, Red Porsche 911 Targa and White Toyota Alphard.
“We see that there are far fewer red Rolls-Royce cruising in Singapore recently,” said the person involved in cases where 10 individuals were declared.
The dealer said one reason for the decline in new luxury cars is that the confiscated vehicles have been sold to the market. Singapore’s Justice Minister K Shanmugam said last month that the government had sold 33 of the vehicles seized so far.
In response to the scandal, the Singapore government has ordered luxury car dealers, real estate agents and jewellery sellers to check the source of funding for the most expensive products and report buyers suspected of having criminal links.
“We had to do due diligence to our customers, which is becoming more sensitive due to the money laundering case,” Lee said.
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Luxury car sales were also hit by higher taxes introduced in 2023 to cool what the government perceived as an overheating market coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The most expensive cars (taxes priced above S$80,000) rose from 220% to 320%. The government has also introduced changes to limit the resale value of cars.
Another consideration for buyers is the cost of the certificate of rights that a resident must obtain before being permitted to purchase a car. The price is based on a bidding system to control the number of vehicles on the road.
For the most powerful models, the certificate currently costs less than S$117,000 from S$96,000 a year ago, but it is significantly below the pricing of S$150,000 in November 2023, reflecting a decline in demand for high-end vehicles.
