Vehicle sales to pick up speed as COE deregistration boom continues

Sales will grow 22.5% in 2016.

Car manufacturers will enjoy brisk sales in Singapore on back of the continued de-registration of Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) and the scrapping of old vehicles, according to a report by BMI Research.

In 2016, BMI Research expects total vehicle sales to grow by 22.5%, driven by a sharp increase in car sales. Car deals are expected to jump by 25% this year, with mass-market car maker Toyota expected to lead sales.

“Passenger vehicles will thus experience growth due to vehicle replacement as vehicles are scrapped, COEs de-registered and new ones bought. Although the government is directing investment into the expansion of public transport infrastructure in an attempt at easing congestion in the city, these projects are not set to come online in our forecast period of 2016-2019 and therefore will not have any negative impact on passenger vehicle sales,” BMI Research said.

From 2016 to 2019, BMI Research expects vehicle sales to grow at an annual average of 30.2%.