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Tesla Sales Surging in Singapore, Where a Base Model 3 Costs the Equivalent of $148,000

Singapore is experiencing an EV boom and Tesla is pushing its rivals out of contention, thanks to the city state’s tightly controlled new vehicle registration laws. By the way, an entry-level Model 3 costs nearly S$200,000 over there, which is the equivalent of $148,000. In the U.S. the same car would cost you less than $40,000.
Tesla Model 3 6 photos
Photo: Tesla
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In Q3 of 2021, the number of new Teslas in Singapore has risen more than 10 times what it was in the first half of the year – from just 30 units to 487, as per data from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA).

“I bought the car because I’m a supporter and shareholder of the company,” said software engineer Tim Shim, who according to Reuters reserved his Model 3 five years ago, but only recently came into possession of the car, with sales kicking off this year.

Thanks to supporters such as Shim, Tesla was the city state’s sixth-most popular carmaker in September, outselling the likes of Nissan, Kia and Audi.

One explanation for this surge is Singapore announcing up to S$45,000 subsidy for EV buyers. Then there’s also the fact that Tesla has fared better than its rivals at handling supply chain issues and the case may be that they’re simply able to deliver more cars than the competition.

“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 EV expert with Nanyang Technological University.

There’s also another issue here. Due to Singapore’s strict laws regarding car registrations (until early 2025), the fact that Tesla’s market share has gained so much momentum means rivals such as Mercedes have seen their numbers drop. The German carmaker saw a massive 45% decline in new car registrations in Q3 of 2021, compared to the first half of the year.

Aside from Tesla, only Hyundai managed to do better than everyone else in terms of managing disruptions and registering a rise in sales.
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About the author: Sergiu Tudose
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Sergiu got to experience both American and European car "scenes" at an early age (his father drove a Ford Fiesta XR2 supermini in the 80s). After spending over 15 years at local and international auto publications, he's starting to appreciate comfort behind the wheel more than raw power and acceleration.
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