Monday, June 4, 2012

A Porsche for a Chery

One man's Chery QQ is another man's Porsche Boxster Black Edition - if the Porsche man were shopping for a car in the United States, that is.

Soaring Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums and a robust Singapore dollar have made the cheapest passenger car here - the manual Chery QQ 0.8 - the equivalent of most European luxury badges elsewhere.

Even at a promotional net price of S$74,988, the Chery QQ gets you the Porsche Boxster Black Edition at US$55,200 (S$71,450) in the US. If it is any comfort, the Black Edition's drawback is the literal application of Henry Ford's motto - it only comes in black - while the Chery QQ comes in a cheerful orange.


Three weeks ago, the Chery QQ's normal selling price of S$94,988 would have priced it into the luxury car market in the toppermost of the poppermost of cities - Hong Kong, where an Audi A6 2.8 FSI quattro costs slightly less at HK$560,000 (S$93,400).

At S$94,988, the QQ's price tag is more COE than car - the S$58,001 premium for Category A cars at last count makes up 61 per cent of the final retail price.

But it is when you reach for the larger cars in Category B that you hit the supercar leagues overseas. The BMW 520i, a best-selling model, goes for S$250,800 as of its May price list - enough to get you a Ferrari in the US.

With Cat B premiums at $85,216 from the last bidding round, the BMW's price is 66:33 car-to-COE - practically the inverse situation of Cat A cars. Little wonder that the larger luxury cars have dealt humbler ones a spirited walloping.

Toyota used to easily outsell every other brand in the market. As recently as 2009 when it took pole position, 17,555 new Toyotas were registered - or 1,463 cars a month. Last year, just 297 Toyotas a month were registered.

There is little cause to have a complex if you're a Toyota man, though. A Toyota Corolla Altis here is the equal of a Jaguar XFR in the US.

There is little telling where this might go - the government's efforts to relieve the COE supply squeeze might be stymied by a lower vehicle deregistration rate.



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