Ferrari, Rolls-Royce and McLaren double in May

Figures from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) denote a substantially higher registration for ultra high end marques, with Ferrari, Rolls-Royce and McLaren doubling their registrations in the month of May from the previous month. The trend is likely sparked by buyers rushing in, wanting to procure their high end cars before the import taxes increase substantially due to the new tiered Additional Registration Fee (ARF) scheme. 

Ultra luxury marque Rolls-Royce registered 21 cars in May - compared to seven in the months of February and March, and 11 in April. Italian supercar Ferrari registered an average of eight cars per month in the first quarter of the year. But last month, the brand secured 25 new car registrations.

Other brands which recorded exponential registration in May include Aston Martin and Bentley.  

The new tiered ARF structure will apply to all cars registered with Certificate Of Entitlements (COE) obtained from March 2013 onwards. COEs for Categories A and B are valid for six months upon successful bidding, but are non-transferrable. On the other hand, Category E COEs are only valid for three months, but is transferrable. 

As such, dealers of ultra high end cars were in a fury to snatch up pre-March COEs, as buyers will rush in to procure these cars before prices get affected by the new ARF scheme. Earlier, local papers reported that Category E COEs were swept up at prices of more than $100,000. 

The new tiered ARF scheme will see that cars with an Open Market Value (OMV) of more than $20,000 attract heftier tax. The structure of the new tax is punitive towards the top tier of car brands. For instance, a Rolls-Royce Phantom, with an OMV of $632,000, will incur $1,088,000 in ARF - a substantial $456,000 more than the amount before the new scheme kicked in.