Singapore car population greys - Avg 5.57 years old

[LiuDeHua]

Adrian Lim | MyPaper | Tuesday, Mar 4, 2014

 

 

SINGAPORE - The average age of Singapore's passenger-car population is the oldest in a decade, and motor workshops and automotive parts suppliers are seeing a boom in business.

 

Last year, the average age of the car population hit 5.57 years, after steadily climbing from 2.67 years in 2007.

It is a trend which industry players said will persist, as high certificate of entitlement (COE) prices and loan curbs make people hold on to their cars longer.

 

The average age of 5.57 years is the oldest in a decade, and up from 4.89 years in 2012, going by an analysis provided by global automotive supplier ZF to MyPaper.

 

The analysis was based on Land Transport Authority (LTA) statistics, which also showed that the number of cars aged between nine and 10 years nearly tripled last year, to 23,039 from 8,089 the year before.

Cars aged between eight and nine years also showed a marked increase, to 84,212 from 29,983.

Aftermarket workshops and parts suppliers are seeing a surge in business.

 

Mr Joey Lim, managing director of Harmony Motor, said that compared to three years ago, business volume has increased by around 50 per cent.

 

"It's definitely due to the ages of the cars. People are keeping their cars for longer, and have to spend more on maintenance. We are seeing more repair jobs related to wear and tear," he added.

 

His operations are at "maximum capacity" and he has difficulty hiring more car mechanics due to the foreign labour curbs.

 

Mr Markus Wittig, ZF Asia-Pacific's regional general manager for aftermarket sales, said the company has seen "double-digit growth" in sales annually for the last three years, with Singapore being a key contributor.

 

ZF supplies components to car manufacturers such as Ford, Audi and BMW, and has about 20 dealers in Singapore which serve up to 200 workshops.

 

Mr Wittig added that Singapore drivers cover about 20,000km a year, much more than their counterparts in Britain and Australia, who cover only 10,825km and 14,000km, respectively.

 

Additionally, the high frequency of stop-and-go traffic here also significantly increases the rate of wear and tear of a car's undercarriage, he noted.

 

Transport expert Lee Der Horng from the National University of Singapore said that in the past, when COE prices were comparatively lower, owners tended to change their cars every three to five years, or when warranty periods were up.

They also took advantage of periods of low interest rates to buy a new car and take out a new loan.

 

Professor Lee said a supply glut in COEs can be expected in the next two to three years, as the huge numbers of older cars reach the 10-year mark and will likely be deregistered.

 

"Depending on whether the Government releases the scrapped supply back, the COE price may become unstable," he said.

 

Additional reporting by Lim Yi Han.

 

[Puteh83]

And who's fault is it?? Zzzzzzzzzz

[drivinghazard]

This study is very accurate, I am part of the statistics lol.

 

My car now zhun zhun 5.5 years old. My mileage is 110k km, so means yearly average 20km, again spot on for Singaporean drivers.

[Banz86]

My current ride is 4.3 years old and I don't think will be selling or upgrading anything soon.. I may even think of driving till the COE ends..

 

But that's a good report as I think more people will be holding on to their cars.. Think time to find a good workshop for me to "prepare" for wear and tear.

[F355]

5.57 years and they call it a grey population ? Its probably the youngest fleet of cars in the whole world.

 

Only in Sillypore we say 80k b&b car cheap ; and 6yr is old car.

[Wt_know]

how can

not long ago ... 3 years old car when out of warranty in spore is considered very old liao

[Picanto]

And who's fault is it?? Zzzzzzzzzz

Nobody fault.unless u wanna blame government again

[Puteh83]

Nobody fault.unless u wanna blame government again

 

haha..i dare not.

[StefanK]

hoh seh... can open my own car workshop liao!

[Yeobh]

Since early last year sales of automotive diagnostic testers and specialty tools keep on moving towards north, very encouraging sign. Also notice more and more handy men are doing weekend DIY - oil changes, spark plug replacements and brake bleeding.

[GLZT]

Since early last year sales of automotive diagnostic testers and specialty tools keep on moving towards north, very encouraging sign. Also notice more and more handy men are doing weekend DIY - oil changes, spark plug replacements and brake bleeding.

Let's just hope all of them are sensible and responsible enough to dispose the oil properly.

[Loki]

My car is now more than 8.5 years old. First time I have driven a car that is so "old", minus that last and only time I had a COE car.

[Lala81]

my car registered in may 08.

[Benarsenal]

5.57 years and they call it a grey population ? Its probably the youngest fleet of cars in the whole world.

 

Only in Sillypore we say 80k b&b car cheap ; and 6yr is old car.

 

Exactly. 5 years old is very new in many countries.

 

We shouldn't be encouraging constant changing and scrapping cars IMO. Very wasteful.

[Picanto]

nowadays no chance to be so wasteful already. middle income is slowly squeezed out of the new car market

 

Exactly. 5 years old is very new in many countries.

 

We shouldn't be encouraging constant changing and scrapping cars IMO. Very wasteful.

 

[Astrid]

And who's fault is it?? Zzzzzzzzzz

It's none other than the peoples' fault!

 

5+ years average car life span is way too low, by global standards.

Typical in US/Europe is 10-20 years, some even older.

 

It's high time the govt steps in to change this stoopid mindset that must change to new car every 3-5 years! Such a waste of natural resources (for non-recyclable parts) and energy (for those recyclable).

 

All want to / must buy new car issit?

Why cannot sinkies buy used cars, or COE (>10 yrs) cars?

 

Or better still, don't buy any car and switch to public transport?

 

Exactly. 5 years old is very new in many countries.

 

We shouldn't be encouraging constant changing and scrapping cars IMO. Very wasteful.

Agree! *palm on heart*

[Astrid]

nowadays no chance to be so wasteful already. middle income is slowly squeezed out of the new car market

 

The middle income (or sandwiched class) is being squeezed out of not only the new car market, but also out of mass-market private properties!

 

This was singled out as a point of growing discontentment in Singapore's recent past.

 

Middle income = sandwiched class: >$150,000 p.a. but <$250,000 p.a. households.

That's quite a lot of "us" already!

All desiring to upgrade jobs, house and car(s) ;-)

[Baal]

Its largely due to the 75% ARF rebate within 1st 5 yrs, & at times paired with AD warranty.

 

That's why I find that the 140/180% arf has less than full effect on that segment.

 

Looking at things, middle classes best stay with their rides & extend into a coe car. The planning can starts today.

The middle income (or sandwiched class) is being squeezed out of not only the new car market, but also out of mass-market private properties!

This was singled out as a point of growing discontentment in Singapore's recent past.

Middle income = sandwiched class: >$150,000 p.a. but <$250,000 p.a. households.
That's quite a lot of "us" already!
All desiring to upgrade jobs, house and car(s) ;-)

 

Based on http://www.nuss.org.sg/%5CFileStore%5CDocuments%5C2_70.pdf

 

Its suggested as 35-80k per annum / personal income.

Edited March 4, 2014 by Baal