In wealthy Singapore, where new vehicle registration is tightly controlled to manage the city state’s traffic and pollution, Tesla Inc is having a moment: surging sales are gobbling up rivals’ market share.
The buying frenzy in one of the world’s most expensive places to own a vehicle – Tesla’s most basic Model 3 costs nearly S$200,000 ($148,300) in Singapore, largely due to an ownership levy, compared with less than $40,000 in the United States – underscores the U.S. firm’s ascent in the global auto industry.
This week, Tesla surpassed $1 trillion in market value, overshadowing the combined value of five of its biggest rivals, Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen AG, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Co and General Motors.
The number of new Teslas on Singapore roads has risen more than ten-fold to 487 in the third quarter, from just 30 in the first half, data from Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) showed.
“I bought the car because I’m a supporter and shareholder of the company,” said software engineer Tim Shim, who reserved a Model 3 five years ago but received just recently as sales began this year in the city-state.
Helped by Tesla fans like Shim, the company became Singapore’s sixth-most popular car brand in September, outselling Nissan, Audi and Kia.
Experts say there is no single cause for the surge, although Singapore did announce this year up to S$45,000 subsidy for buyers of electric cars. Because Tesla seems to have fared better than other companies at weathering supply chain issues, it may simply be able to deliver more cars than competitors.
“Pent up demand is relatively large. Now the supply is in place and Tesla is most likely working through a large backlog,” said Niels de Boer, an electromobility expert at Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
There were 314 Teslas registered last month in Singapore, almost on par with Hyundai and trailing top brands Toyota Motor Corp’s 778 and Honda Motor’s 466.
Tesla declined to comment on its performance in Singapore.
Its website shows new buyers still have to wait 4-12 weeks to get their cars.
TESLA’S GAIN IS OTHERS’ LOSS
Singapore’s strict limits on car registrations until early 2025 mean Tesla’s market share gain comes at the cost of its rivals in the tiny and competitive country, which runs 50 km (31 miles) from east to west and 27 km from north to south.
Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz and Nissan saw a average monthly new car registrations decline in the third quarter, down 45% and 27% respectively from the first half of this year, according to a Reuters calculation.
Although monthly car registration dropped 15.8% on average last quarter from the first half, only Tesla and Korean car makers Hyundai and Kia bucked the trend among major vendors. Hyundai and Kia reported 13.6% and 25% sales rises respectively.
Analysts and industry experts said factory disruptions caused by a global chip shortage also probably affected deliveries and sales in recent months. Hyundai and Tesla are among a handful of carmakers that fared better than rivals in managing disruptions.
(For graphic on Top brands vs Tesla’s performance in 2021 – https://graphics.reuters.com/TESLA-SINGAPORE/gdpzywlwdvw/chart.png)
“A Tesla car is cheaper to own when compared to equivalent class sedans from other famous Western brands like Mercedes and BMW,” said Andy Seo, who switched to Tesla from a Volvo. He said it costs about S$20-S$30 to fully charge a Model 3 near his home.
NTU’s de Boer expects the Tesla frenzy to fade longer term as competition heats up, but said it could help broaden adoption of electric vehicles (EVs).
“I think Tesla will help with the shift: this is buying an EV while being cool and trendy,” he said.
(For graphic on Top three car brands in Singapore vs Tesla (Jan-Sept 2021)- https://graphics.reuters.com/TESLA-SINGAPORE/egvbkmxmwpq/chart.png)
Tesla made up 1.4% of 36,629 new car registrations in Singapore this year, compared with top player Toyota’s 20.4%.
Singapore, which Tesla CEO Elon Musk once criticised for not being supportive of EVs, plans to phase out all internal combustion engine vehicles https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-economy-budget-autos-idUSKBN20C15D by 2040 and is encouraging drivers to switch to EVs through a range of measures, including more tax breaks and subsidies.
TORONTO – Cineplex Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year ago as it was hit by a fine for deceptive marketing practices imposed by the Competition Tribunal.
The movie theatre company says it lost $24.7 million or 39 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $29.7 million or 40 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The results in the most recent quarter included a $39.2-million provision related to the Competition Tribunal decision, which Cineplex is appealing.
The Competition Bureau accused the company of misleading theatregoers by not immediately presenting them with the full price of a movie ticket when they purchased seats online, a view the company has rejected.
Revenue for the quarter totalled $395.6 million, down from $414.5 million in the same quarter last year, while theatre attendance totalled 13.3 million for the quarter compared with nearly 15.7 million a year earlier.
Box office revenue per patron in the quarter climbed to $13.19 compared with $12 in the same quarter last year, while concession revenue per patron amounted to $9.85, up from $8.44 a year ago.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.
The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.
Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.