View of the Singapore skyline. Taro Hama @ e-kamakura/Getty Images
Drivers in Singapore must obtain a Certificate of Entitlement to own a car.
The city-state requires the certificates to control how many cars are driving in the country.
The costs can skyrocket when demand is high and now amounts to more than 76,000 US dollars (around 72,000 euros).
If you want to own and drive a car in Singapore, you’ll need a lot of money: Drivers now have to shell out a whopping $76,000 (around €72,000) or more to get the right to buy a vehicle there.
Since 1990, drivers in Singapore have had to obtain a Certificate of Entitlement, or quota permit, in order to drive in the city-state. This system aims to limit the number of cars on the roads to reduce traffic and emissions. The licenses are auctioned by the government in limited quantities depending on how many older cars are in use.
Over the years, the ten-year certificate required to purchase a car has cost drivers thousands of euros. They often pay more than the vehicle they want to own is worth.
For an off-road vehicle, the certificate now costs a record-breaking 146,002 Singapore dollars (around 100,000 euros), he said „Reuters“. For comparison, that’s roughly the same price as four mid-size Toyota Camry hybrid sedans.
Read too
Singapore is the 6th Blue Zone in the world where people live longer – that’s what urban planning has to do with it
A small vehicle (a category A car) requires at least 76,000 dollars (around 72,000 euros), so „CNN“. Categories are based on displacement or engine power.
These costs are added to the price of the car, making owning a vehicle in Singapore unaffordable for many.
As demand has recovered after the Corona period, more and more citizens in Singapore want to drive a car. The city-state is so small that you can travel through it in about an hour.
Last year, Singapore was tied with New York at the top most expensive cities in the world.
This article was translated from English by Jonas Metzner. You can read the original article here read.
Read too
Working 16 hours a day: Six young people from Singapore report on their lives in one of the most expensive cities in the world