Slump in Singapore vehicle sales to worsen in 2019

Singapore

STABILISING - or even slowing - demand for vehicles from ride-sharing service providers, and macro factors weighing on consumer sentiment will accelerate the contraction in Singapore vehicle sales in 2019 and send it rock bottom in 2021, said a Fitch Solutions report released on Friday.

Singapore's consumer market has been on the upturn, buoyed by wage growth and low levels of unemployment. However, Fitch analysts cautioned that "slowing economic growth, the result of US-China trade tensions and rising interest rates, along with a pick-up in imported inflation, will weigh on consumer sentiment and cap spending". This will further erode the likelihood of the Singaporean consumer making larger purchases, such as new vehicles, they added.