Falling yen might not lower car prices

WITH the yen near 24-year lows, many Japanese goods could soon get cheaper here. But don’t expect cars from the Land of the Rising Sun (and Falling Currency) to be among them.

Some distributors say a number of factors could keep the import values of cars from falling, even though the Singapore dollar has appreciated sharply against the yen this year.

More than one source told The Business Times that freight charges are currently high, and that manufacturers have passed rising microchip prices on to them. That has buoyed their cars’ open market value (OMV), which is the cost of buying them from the car manufacturer, along with the cost of shipping them here and insuring them in transit.