Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

A last hurrah for used car dealers

A 60-day reprieve has breathed new life into a used car market that was badly hit by drastic loan curbs. TODAY’s senior photojournalist Ernest Chua visited the used car mart at Turf City last week where bustling business returned, after sales slowed to a trickle following the curbs which took effect on February 26.

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

A 60-day reprieve has breathed new life into a used car market that was badly hit by drastic loan curbs. TODAY’s senior photojournalist Ernest Chua visited the used car mart at Turf City last week where bustling business returned, after sales slowed to a trickle following the curbs which took effect on February 26.

On April 5, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said it was lifting loan curbs for 60 days for less than 7,000 used cars. The announcement came after several appeals from used-car dealers.

With the authorities making clear that the period will not be extended, several used car dealers TODAY spoke to are making use of this window to clear their stock, before restructuring their business or getting out of the line for good.

One of them, who only gave his name as Philip, said: “Now you see good business, but At the end of the grace period, you will see a lot of company downsizing and some are already preparing to close down.”

Another dealer, who just joined the industry two years ago, said he would most likely go back to his previous job as a property agent.

According to the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association, about 30 per cent of the used cars which qualify for full loans were sold within the first week of lifting the loan curbs.

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.