In wealthy Singapore, where new vehicle registration is tightly controlled to manage the city state’s traffic and pollution, Tesla Inc is having a moment: surging sales are gobbling up rivals’ market share.
The buying frenzy in one of the world’s most expensive places to own a vehicle – Tesla’s most basic Model 3 costs nearly S$200,000 ($148,300) in Singapore, largely due to an ownership levy, compared with less than $40,000 in the United States – underscores the U.S. firm’s ascent in the global auto industry.
This week, Tesla surpassed $1 trillion in market value, overshadowing the combined value of five of its biggest rivals, Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG , Ford Motor Co and General Motors.
The number of new Teslas on Singapore roads has risen more than ten-fold to 487 in the third quarter, from just 30 in the first half, data from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) showed.
“I bought the car because I’m a supporter and shareholder of the company,” said software engineer Tim Shim, who reserved a Model 3 five years ago but received just recently as sales began this year in the city-state.
- Tesla unveils new China research, data centers; will store data locally
- Tesla set to move headquarters from California to Texas
Helped by Tesla fans like Shim, the company became Singapore’s sixth-most popular car brand in September, outselling Nissan, Audi and Kia.
Experts say there is no single cause for the surge, although Singapore did announce this year up to S$45,000 subsidy for buyers of electric cars. Because Tesla seems to have fared better than other companies at weathering supply chain issues, it may simply be able to deliver more cars than competitors.
“Pent up demand is relatively large. Now the supply is in place and Tesla is most likely working through a large backlog,” said Niels de Boer, an electromobility expert at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
There were 314 Teslas registered last month in Singapore, almost on par with Hyundai and trailing top brands Toyota Motor Corp’s 778 and Honda Motor’s 466.
Tesla declined to comment on its performance in Singapore.
Its website shows new buyers still have to wait 4-12 weeks to get their cars.
DAILY NATION
