Luxury brands and used cars defy the worst car market in 8 years

NEW car sales haven’t been this bad in nearly a decade, but not everyone in the industry here is feeling the pain.

Land Transport Authority (LTA) figures show that 21,470 new cars were registered in the first eight months of this year. With an estimated 12,000 or so Certificates Of Entitlement (COEs) for passenger cars still to be deployed in the final four months of 2022, the year’s final tally of new cars sold could end up at less than 34,000 — down significantly from 2021, when 45,422 new cars rolled onto roads here.

That will make 2022 the worst year for new car sales since 2014, when the industry sold 28,932 units.