In many countries, the main factor influencing the cost of a car remains its manufacturer's price. However, there are states where a buyer has to pay not only for the car itself but also for numerous taxes, duties, or even a separate right to own a vehicle. As a result, the final cost of a car can increase several times, and sometimes the main commodity is not the car at all, but the permit to register it.
Singapore: First, You Need to Buy the Right to Own a Car
The most unusual system operates in Singapore.
Before buying a car, the prospective owner must win a government auction where a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) is sold — a certificate granting the right to use a car for ten years.
Without this document, it is impossible to register a car.
After the ten-year period, the owner has only two options:
- send the car for scrap or export it out of the country;
- acquire a new certificate, paying for the right for the next ten-year period.
The legislation does not provide for indefinite extension of the certificate.
The Number of Cars is Regulated by the State
COE auctions are held once every two weeks.
The number of certificates is calculated based on the number of cars deregistered ten years ago. Therefore, the supply volume constantly changes, and prices change accordingly.
Since 2018, the growth in the number of passenger cars and motorcycles in the country has effectively been set at 0%. For comparison, back in the late 2000s, the annual growth of the car fleet was about 3%.
This restriction is due to the size of the state. Singapore's area is about 730 km², and the road network already occupies approximately 12% of the entire island's territory.
Taxes Form the Main Cost
Buying a car in Singapore involves significantly more expenses than the cost of the car itself.
To the base price are added:
- import excise duty — 20%;
- goods and services tax — 9%;
- registration fee — 350 Singapore dollars;
- Additional Registration Fee (ARF);
- COE certificate cost.
The greatest financial burden is created by the Additional Registration Fee (ARF).
It is calculated on a progressive scale:
- the first 20 thousand Singapore dollars of the car's value are taxed at a rate of 100%;
- the next 20 thousand — 140%;
- another 20 thousand — 190%;
- the next 20 thousand — 250%;
- all value exceeding 80 thousand Singapore dollars is taxed at a rate of 320%.
If a car costs 200 thousand Singapore dollars, the ARF alone exceeds the initial cost of the car by more than double. Only after this does the buyer pay for the COE certificate.
The Price of One Certificate Breaks Records
The latest auction, held on July 8, 2026, once again set new historical highs.
The cost of certificates was:
- Category A (small cars) — 129 thousand Singapore dollars;
- Category B (more powerful cars) — 130,889 Singapore dollars.
The previous record for Category A — 128,105 Singapore dollars — was set just nine months earlier, in October 2025.
Converted to US currency, the cost of one certificate approached 100 thousand US dollars.
An Ordinary Corolla Becomes a Premium Class Car
Due to the current tax system, even mass-market models turn out to be extremely expensive.
Thus, a Toyota Corolla Altis from official dealers, including all mandatory payments and the COE certificate, costs approximately 145–200 thousand Singapore dollars, which corresponds to approximately 110–150 thousand US dollars.
In many other countries, such a model costs buyers 5–7 times less.
In fact, the COE certificate alone in the summer of 2026 cost approximately the same as four new compact sedans in the US market, where the average price of such a car is about 27 thousand dollars.
Denmark Increases Car Price Even Before Registration
Denmark remains one of the countries with the highest car taxes.
The registration tax here is also calculated on a progressive system.
Rates are distributed as follows:
- 25% on the first 65.8 thousand Danish kroner (about 9.7 thousand dollars);
- 85% on the next part of the value;
- 150% on the value exceeding approximately 205 thousand Danish kroner (about 30 thousand dollars).
Before the 2016 reform, the maximum rate reached 180%.
The buyer is obliged to pay the full amount of the registration tax before receiving license plates.
That is why Denmark is often called the "country of cyclists." A mid-range car costing about 300 thousand kroner (approximately 44 thousand dollars) after tax costs almost twice its original price.
Malaysia and Indonesia Restrict the Market Through Taxes
In Malaysia, imported cars go through several stages of taxation.
The following are successively charged:
- import duty — up to 30% for cars manufactured outside ASEAN countries;
- excise duty — from 60 to 105% depending on engine capacity;
- sales tax — 10%.
Each subsequent payment is calculated taking into account previous charges, so the cost of a car after all procedures can increase almost threefold relative to the original manufacturer's price.
Indonesia has a different system.
The PPnBM tax depends not on the car's value, but on the body type.
For sedans, the following rates apply:
- from 30% regardless of engine displacement;
- up to 125% for models with engines over 3 liters.
Crossovers and minivans of a similar class are considered utility vehicles and are taxed significantly more leniently — at rates from 10 to 20%.
As a result, many car manufacturers have practically stopped supplying sedans to the Indonesian market, and demand has massively shifted towards crossovers and minivans.
In North Korea, the Main Restriction is Not Tax
A completely different approach is applied in the DPRK.
Formally, the right to own a car is enshrined in Article 58 of the Civil Code, but for many years only a few could exercise it.
Only in 2025 was the legislation changed, allowing cars to be registered directly to individuals.
However, the main obstacle remains the origin of funds.
The buyer must confirm that the money for the car was legally earned outside the country.
Only a few are capable of doing this, in particular:
- ethnic Koreans residing abroad no further than the fourth generation;
- citizens officially working abroad under government contracts.
The maximum cost of a car for a private owner is limited to 50 thousand yuan (about 7 thousand US dollars).
For this reason, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus are excluded from the list of cars allowed for private purchase and remain available only to the country's top leadership.
With a population of about 26 million people, the DPRK has approximately 30 thousand cars, which corresponds to approximately one car per 800 inhabitants.
Even Supercars in Singapore Are Taxed Almost the Same
After the 2022 reform, Singapore introduced an additional ARF tier for cars with a market value exceeding 80 thousand Singapore dollars.
The most expensive models, including the Lamborghini Urus, fall under this system.
Thanks to the progressive scale, the tax burden on supercars and significantly more affordable cars turns out to be similar in percentage terms.
Thus, a Lamborghini Urus without a COE certificate costs about 1.39 million Singapore dollars, and after all mandatory payments and the purchase of a certificate, its cost approaches 1.5 million Singapore dollars, or approximately 1.1 million US dollars.
Against this background, an ordinary Toyota Corolla, recalculated taking into account all Singaporean surcharges, costs the buyer approximately the same amount as a new Mercedes-Benz S-Class in Europe or the USA.
These examples show that the cost of a car is not always determined by its technical characteristics or manufacturer's price. In some countries, government regulatory mechanisms play a decisive role, turning car ownership into an expensive privilege.