From Bloomberg News:
BMW at $213,000 Is Singapore Way to Encourage Train RidesQuoteSingapore will stick to a licensing system that has made it one of the world's most expensive places to buy a car, limiting vehicle ownership to encourage more people to use public transport.
FULL ARTICLE HERE (http://markholtz.info/jo)
It is understandable when you have a country the size of a postage stamp. However, I can see how the anti-car people will try to apply the same ideas to the United States.
Malaysia has high import duties and excise taxes to protect its local auto makers; a car with > 2500cc displacement gets 30% duty, 105% excise and 10% sales tax. This helps make a luxury car an even more reliable indicator of wealth.
They use a Certificate of Entitlement in Singapore. It's an auction where you have to bid for a certificate. Prices vary wildly, and the taxes ranged from $ 55,000 - 65,000 in recent months, but are known to have fluctuated between $ 20k to $ 80k. There are several categories, but most city cars and compacts have an engine of 1.6 L or smaller, in recent years even vans and large family cars have engines that size.
You can view recent CoE prices here; http://www.oneshift.com/new_cars/lcoe.php
Fuel and parking is relatively inexpensive in Singapore though. The gas price is $ 1,70 per liter (lower than most of Europe). Parking rates are usually around $ 2 - 3 per hour in the CBD (hotels often charge (much) more), which is not particularly high for a world city. The rates are lower, often less than $ 1 per hour, in residential areas outside the CBD. (all $ here = USD).
You can view parking garages and rates here; http://www.sgcarmart.com/news/carpark_index.php?TYP=carpark
There are tolls (ERP = Electronic Road Pricing), but only around the CBD and there are usually no tolls outside rush hour. Some toll gantries only charge during the morning rush hour (or evening rush hour if outbound).
You can view the ERP rates here; http://www.onemotoring.com.sg/publish/onemotoring/en/imap.html?param=redirect
Car ownership in Singapore is low, but those who do own a car, use it a lot, the average Singapore car drives 19,000 km per year, which is a lot considering how small the country is.