Drivers in Singapore now need to pay £88,000 to own a car, excluding the cost of the vehicle itself.
Singapore is the most expensive place in the world to be a motorist, with skyrocketing prices putting cars out of reach for most middle-class Singaporeans.
Vast increases in costs to be able to own a car are a result of the rising price of 10-year certificates of entitlement (COEs).
The cost of buying a Toyota Camry Hybrid in Singapore, including a COE, registration fees and taxes, now stands at £151,000, which is five times the UK cost.
This is also twice more than the median annual household salary, which stands at £72,716.
Inflation combined wth a slowing economy mean some Singaporeans are selling the cars they bought when COE prices were low, in order to make a profit.
This year, Singapore was named the most expensive city for living in luxury, according to a report by the Julius Baer Group, the Swiss private bank. Rent, house prices, school fees, taxes on cars, and living expenses are all high in the city-state.
Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, and New York were also in the top five.
Singapore knocked Shanghai off the top spot, marking the first time the Asian city-state topped the ranking. It came in fifth place last year and ninth in 2021, showing how much costs are rising in the city.
Julius Baer analysts added that Singapore’s government had succeeded in their attempts to make it an attractive place for high net-worth individuals to live and work but that this had also pushed prices up.
“Long considered liveable, stable, and cosmopolitan, Singapore is now vying to become a leading global centre for the wealthy,” the Julius Baer analysts wrote. They added that it has a bustling airport and one of the world’s highest GDPs per capita.
Full ranking:
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Singapore
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Shanghai
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Hong Kong
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London
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New York
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Monaco
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Dubai
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Taipei
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São Paulo
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Miami
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