Starting Phase Two - what does this mean for drivers?

This Friday, Singapore transitions into 'Phase Two', where more businesses are allowed to resume operations, some social gatherings are allowed, and we look to regain some level of normalcy about our lives.

What does this mean for car owners? What does this mean for car buyers? We break down everything we know with regards to the changes in Phase Two for the automotive industry.

Updated on 18 June 2020. This story will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.

Car showrooms will be open

Car showrooms will be open, but additional safety precautions will be put in place

According to the latest list of permitted services released by the government, all retail trade services (codes starting with 47) will be allowed to resume operations. Retail sale of motor vehicles, parts and accessories in specialised stores (code 4731) would fall under this category.

A check with a number of brands across the industry indicates that all car showrooms are expected to resume operations starting from this Friday.

Of course, additional safety precautions will be put in place. These include limiting the number of people allowed into the showroom at one time, increasing the space between the display vehicles, as well as the closure of certain facilities such as children play areas.

New car deliveries will be able to commence, though with expected safety measures in force

On 18 June, LTA announced that COE bidding will resume from Monday, 6 July 2020. Subsequently, COE bidding exercises will return to the regular schedule prior to the Circuit Breaker, opening on the first and third Mondays of each month.

The accumulated COE quota of 19,490 from the suspended bidding exercises from April to June will be returned to the market over the next 12 months from July 2020 to June 2021.

One-third of the accumulated quota will be returned over the first three months from July to September 2020. The remaining two-thirds of the accumulated quota will be returned over the subsequent nine months from October 2020 to June 2021. This will result in an additional quota of 6,494 COEs across all categories for the period from July to September 2020, and 12,996 COEs across all categories for the period from October 2020 to June 2021.

All automotive repair and maintenance services will be available

Car washing and grooming services will be available from 19 June

Previously restricted to repair and maintenance, additional automotive services will be allowed to commence in Phase Two (code 953). This includes car washing and related services, as well as vehicle inspection and valuation services.

Other automotive-related services

LTA-authorised inspection centres are already open for operation. Per its 5 June press release, while the inspection deadlines had previously been deferred due to circuit breaker measures, impacted drivers will receive a notification from LTA and are strongly encouraged to adhere to their scheduled month indicated in the notification from LTA. Drivers should also avoid weekday peak hours from 10:00am to 2:00pm where possible.

Driving centres can resume operation, which means that practical lessons can commence once more

Driving centres (code 85) will also be able to resume operation. Presently, theory lessons have been conducted during Phase One via Skype, but practical lessons should now be able to resume.

Across the board, we will see more businesses resuming operations. Understandably, additional safety and precautionary measures, such as safe distancing, SafeEntry check-in and check-out, temperature taking and the like will need to be observed across all businesses, and may lead to some temporary inconveniences.

As we move into Phase Two, please continue to take necessary precautions so that we can avoid any sharp uptick in new community cases.