There Are Now 1 Million Vehicles in S’pore, a Record High

By
Kacey Tan
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Tell any foreigner how much a car typically costs in Singapore, and they will probably pass out, because that amount will likely be enough to purchase an apartment elsewhere.

Despite our sky-high Certificate Of Entitlement (COE) Premiums, that, if I may add, have not stopped increasing, Singaporeans are apparently reluctant to part with their dearest Toyotas, BMWs, and perhaps Maseratis, seeing how we have just reached a record high number of vehicles on the road.

The Statistics

According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) website, the total number of vehicles on the road exceeded one million for the first time in July last year. By the end of December, there were 1,007,094 vehicles in total. This means that there was an increase of 10,362 vehicles (or 1.04%) from the end of 2023.

The increase in number of vehicles on the road can be attributed to the rise in private hire cars, motorcycles, and buses.

In particular, the number of private hire cars and rental cars (for instance, car-sharing vehicles) have increased by 8,629 in total, which is a 10.55% rise since 2023, reaching a record high of 59,371 and 31,012 respectively.

If you want to be bored by more statistics, here are the specifics for the numbers of other vehicle types on the roads in 2024, compared to in 2023.

Private cars:

  • Decrease by 0.36%
  • Total number in 2024: 569,956

Private hire cars (inclusive of rental/car-sharing cars):

  • Increase by 10.55%
  • Total number in 2024: 90,383

Taxis:

  • Decrease by 3.69%
  • Total number in 2024: 13,117

Buses:

  • Increase by 2.46%
  • Total number in 2024: 18,698

Others (for example, lorries and vans):

  • Decrease by 0.03%
  • Total number in 2024: 167,057

Motorcycles:

  • Increase by 2.70%
  • Total number in 2024: 147,883

Zero-vehicle Growth Policy…But There Is Still Vehicle Growth?

Since February 2018, Singapore has a zero-vehicle growth policy for cars and motorcycles. As for commercial vehicles (e.g. vans and lorries) and buses, growth rate must be maintained at 0.25% until 2028.

This policy limits the overall vehicle quota, which refers to the number of new vehicles registered annually.

However, this does not mean that the number of vehicles on the road will remain the same; it is expected to fluctuate.

This is because the Land Transport Authority has made plans to inject almost 20,000 new COEs over the next few years. As shared by Mr Chee Hong Tat in Parliament in November 2024, this would effectively involve “borrowing from the future”.

Through this exercise, COE premiums that will definitely expire in future peak supplies will be brought forward and redistributed, satisfying current demand. As a result, the distance between peak and trough periods are reduced, stabilising supply of COEs, and consequently reducing COE price volatility.

Thus, in the long term, there will be little to no growth in number of vehicles overall.

Just last year, 9,000 Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) in categories A and B, that are guaranteed to expire in 2026 to 2027, were brought forward, attributing to the rise in number of vehicles on the road.

Grab Everywhere

As for the increase in private hire cars and rental, the President of Prime Group shared with Lianhe Zaobao that unlike buying cars for personal use, those who purchase them for rental or private-hire purposes are likely willing to pay a higher COE premium as the demand for these services are, needless to say, very high.

I mean, just count the number of times you have taken a Grab back home unnecessarily, just because you are lazy to stand in the MRT (I am guilty). Some of you may not even have enough fingers to finish counting all these instances (I am guilty as well).

The Question We All Have: Will COE Premium Prices Fall?

Despite these attempts at stabilising supply by redistributing predicted excess vehicle quotas from the future, its direct effects on vehicle buyers, in other words the prices of COE premiums, are still highly uncertain.

Shi Gui Neng, an experienced consultant in the automotive industry, told Lianhe Zaobao that while more people may begin avoiding buying their own car due to the high prices, they may turn to taking private-hire cars as a form of transport.

This increase in demand for private-hire services may continue to drive demand for COEs, leading to increase in COE premium prices.

Thus he believes that demand-side measures are also necessary to truly stabilise prices.

If you watch at least 10 minutes of brain rot content daily, you must know this:

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Kacey Tan