Hybrid cars are quickly gaining a record share of the auto market in the USA, for many different reasons. The main factor that is pushing people to purchase hybrids is that gas prices are continually rising, which is forcing car owners to look for an alternative. This is leading increasing numbers of American drivers to buy hybrid cars for their daily transport needs, so that they can save money on fuel in the long run. This rapid rise in numbers means that hybrid vehicles now have the greatest ever share of the market, which is a good sign for the whole hybrid car industry.

In March of 2012, a record 52,000 gas-electric hybrid and all-electric cars were purchased. This is a huge leap, from the 34,000 that were purchased during the same month in 2011. From these statistics alone, we can see that more and more people are choosing to buy cars that are of the hybrid nature. Many will be insuring their new cars with someone like RAC, and they will be enjoying saving money on gas. Both gas-electric hybrids and all-electric cars combined now make up 3.64 per cent of the total USA car sales, which is the highest monthly market share yet for these types of cars.

Another factor that is attracting car owners is the great range of new hybrid models that are now available to them. These include the Toyota Prius C subcompact, the Prius V wagon and the Camry hybrid. These new cars mark an exciting development in the hybrid industry. The recent milestone of gas prices rising to meet the $4 per gallon mark has meant that increasing numbers of people have turned to the hybrid type of car, and this can only continue in the future.

Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Cabriolet PDK Used Car for Sales Singapore

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Recall Note: The safety of our customers is our top priority and is one of our important commitments to excellent service standards. To our Cars & Stars’ customers who are affected on this recall, we will send you a letter regarding this matter as soon as we get recall notifications from LTA. Please be rest assured that Cars & Stars will give you all the necessary assistance needed for this recall. Thank you.

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BMW 5 and 6 Series Recall – Close to 10,000 BMWs Affected in Singapore

BMW announced a global safety recall of 1.3 million vehicles. The cars affected by the recall are BMW 5 and 6 series models built between 2003 and 2010. The recall does not apply to any current production model BMWs.

BMW said that the recall is due to incorrect mounting of the battery cable cover. But BMW reported that they are not aware of any accidents or injuries related to the problem.

The recall affects about 368,000 cars in the United States and about 293,000 cars in Germany, BMW said. Another 109,000 cars are subject to the recall in Britain and about 102,000 in China, BMW said.

In Singapore alone, nearly about 10,000 BMW 5 and 6 Series models are affected, which is believed to be the biggest recall exercise in Singapore for the premium automaker.

The Land Transportation Authority (LTA), said that there are about 8,441 BMW 5 Series and 764 6 Series models are affected. Number of affected cars brought in through parallel importers is still uncertain but a rough estimation by LTA shows 520 cars which covers 494 BMW 5 Series and 26 BMW 6 Series.

See BMW’s official press release below:

“In order to carry out a quality measure, the BMW AG is re-calling all BMW 5 and 6 Series models of the previous generation, built between 2003 and 2010 and still on the market for repair at authorised dealers.

In some remote cases, the battery cable cover inside the boot of these vehicles may be incorrectly mounted.

This can result in the electrical system malfunctioning, the vehicle failing to start and, in some cases, to charring or fire.

We are not aware of any accidents or injury to persons resulting from this fault.

Vehicle owners will be notified in writing. Affected vehicles will remain at the respective BMW Partner repair workshop for approximately 30 minutes, the service, of course, being free of charge to the customer.

Approximately 1.3 million vehicles worldwide are affected.”

Disclaimer: This blog post is for reference purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sources: Reuters, LTA

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The Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS) which will be implemented in 2013, will be in a form of an offset against the vehicle’s Additional Registration Fee (ARF) where a maximum rebate of $20,000 will be given for those models which emit less than 100 g/km under the combined cycle.

But it seems like small and economical car will not be able to enjoy the incentive at its maximum due to the minimum Additional Registration Fee (ARF) payment that is $5,000.

Meaning, a buyer of an efficient but somewhat inexpensive car with CO2 emission of under 100 g/km that has a low Open Market Value (OMV) of below $25,000 will not be able to take full advantage of the $20,000 maximum rebate.

ARF is set at 100% of OMV, so a car with a CO2 emission of under 100 g/km with an OMV of about $21,000 will not be able to get the full 20,000 rebate. This means that the buyer still has to pay a minimum ARF of $5,000 instead of just $1,000.

LTA says that fuel-efficient cars and taxis are subject to a minimum ARF payable of $5,000 as models that have relatively low ARF payable need not to be further incentivised.

LTA added that that the minimum ARF payable of $5,000 ensures that cars will continue to enjoy a certain amount of Preferential Additional Registration Fee (Parf) benefit when they are deregistered early which is line with LTA’s existing policy objective of keeping car fleet that are young.

Disclaimer: This blog post is for reference purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Sources: LTA

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As announced by the Minister for Finance during the 2012 Budget Statement and the Minister for Transport during the Committee of Supply 2012, a new Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS) will be implemented in 2013. According to LTA, all new cars, newly imported used cars and taxis registered from 1 January 2013 with low carbon emissions of less than or equal to 160g CO2/km will qualify for the rebates. The rebate which is between $5,000 and $20,000 will be in a form of an offset against the vehicle’s Additional Registration Fee (ARF) payable.

Taxis generally clock higher mileage and thus typically emit more CO2 per year than a car. So in order for taxi companies to adopt lower emission models for their fleet, their rebate will set at 50% higher which is between $7,500 and $30,000 compared to cars.

As for commercial vehicles, buses and motorcycles, the current Green Vehicle Rebate (GVR) will be extended till end-2014 while LTA explores how to better encourage the shift to low carbon emission models in these vehicle categories.

For non-Euro V-compliant diesel models that fall within the rebate emission bands will not enjoy the ARF rebates under CEVS due to the reason that they significantly emit more fine particulate matter. This exemption applies to both diesel cars and diesel taxis.

Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew said that this “fee-bate” scheme draws reference from similar schemes that were successfully implemented in other countries. He added that by widening the price difference of the low emission and the high emission ones will help to hasten the switch towards low emission cars.

Surcharge (From 1 July 2013)

On the other hand, from 1 July 2013, cars with high carbon emissions (which is equal to or more than 211g CO2/km) will incur registration surcharges between $5,000 and $20,000 which is 50% higher than cars.  For diesel models, whether Euro V-compliant or not, that fall within the surcharge bands will incur the appropriate registration surcharge.  This applies to both diesel cars and diesel taxis.  Below are the CEVS Bandings and their corresponding rebates:

Better Fuel Economy Labelling Scheme

To help car buyers make informed decisions regarding carbon emissions, the CO2/km performance data for each car model will be provided on mandatory information labels at car showrooms.

It was also said that LTA will also set up a new FELS online database and online fuel cost calculator for prospective car buyers to compare carbon emission and fuel efficiency data across vehicle models. These changes will be made progressively after LTA takes over the administration of the Fuel Economy Labelling Scheme (FELS) from NEA around mid 2012.

Below is the New Fuel Economy Label:

Examples of Existing Car Models in CEVS Bands

Note: Indicative listing based on combined CO2 emissions of registered motor vehicles, information available at http://els.nea.gov.sg/mfels/vehicle.asp. Actual classification of models under CEVS will be based on Fuel Economy Labelling Scheme (FELS) emissions information administered by LTA.

Disclaimer: This blog post is for reference purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Source:
LTA

Mercedes-Benz C200 CGI Avantgarde Used Car for Sales Singapore

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Toyota Lexus IS250 Used Car for Sales Singapore

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BMW 130i 3DR Used Car for Sales Singapore

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Planning To Buy A Car? Make Sure You Buy It On or Before July 2012.

As every car owner in Singapore knows, COE was implemented to control the numbers of cars on the road to avoid road scarce and traffic jams. And now that January has ended, a new six-month quota period (February-July 2012) comes and is now believed to be every aspiring or current car owners’ last chance to buy a car before the new highs take effect from August 2012 onwards.

The predicted new highs will arise on August 2012, with this motor trade is expected to be sorely scarce. Some esteemed and reputable car dealers also believed that 80% of their cars will be sold within the next month, and the remaining 20% from August onwards.

It was indicated on the previous press release of LTA that the foreseen COE supply crisis is affected by the following factors:

1.) Numbers of cars that will be deregistered and COE replacement for each one of them.

2.) To put a hold on the growth of COE to keep the car population growth in a stiff drift.

The downside is that COE is valid for 10 years and must be renewed after that for the prevailing 3-month price of a new one. Thus, deregistration only occurs when a car is older than 10-20 years; in which 4,525 cars will reach these ages according to LTA. This figure is an obvious fall as compared to 19,375 passenger cars that were deregistered last 2011. In short, only a few old cars can be taken away on the road to make way for fresh COEs this 2012.

According to LTA, the 1.5% growth rate of COE Quota is only applicable for the first half of 2012. And as announced in October 2011, the vehicle growth rate will be revised to 0.5% from August 2012 resulting to thousands of COE Loss. Thus, the car industry, in general, is expecting a dreadfully expensive and scarce COE.

On the other hand, COE has been expected to be stable from February till July August 2012. Cat As is become a bit adequate with a 1,239 monthly quota from February-July 2012. While Cat B has been cut down from 706 to 699.

Now that you know about this predicted COE Crunch, would you not agree that purchasing a car would be cheaper, better and more reasonable on or before July 2012?

cheaper, better and more reasonable on or before July 2012?

Disclaimer: This blog post is for reference purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.

Source:
LTA

Mercedes-Benz E250 Cabriolet Used Car for Sales Singapore

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