COE, EVs and more in 2024: Luxury car brand execs on automotive trends in Singapore

Expect another electrifying year ahead as premium luxury and sports car manufacturers roll-out even more EV versions of their best-selling models in the push for greater sustainability across the industry.

Along with new innovations, immersive technology and higher levels of connectivity, automotive executives anticipate healthy demand for luxury cars in 2024 amid possible economic headwinds. COE fluctuations are also likely to continue dominating conversations – in Singapore, at least.

GREGORY ADAMS, REGIONAL PRESIDENT – ASIA, ASTON MARTIN

“Regardless of the industries we operate in, we are rightfully trending towards a more sustainably focused global environment. While Aston Martin recognises this will continue to be a strong theme in 2024, the brand is looking beyond the next 12 months as we look to transform our products and the way they are manufactured to help tackle climate change.

In 2024, Aston Martin will commence delivery of Valhalla, our first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), followed by our first battery electric vehicle (BEV) targeted for reveal in 2025, and a fully electrified sports car and SUV portfolio by 2030. We are aiming to achieve net-zero manufacturing facilities by 2030, and across our supply chain by 2039.

Electrification is a key part of Aston Martin’s future, and this reflects both in the products we will bring to market in 2024, but also the investment we are making as a company to support our strategy in the years following.

Aston Martin’s first hybrid car – the Valhalla – is targeted for launch in 2024, and Aston Martin will be heavily focused on revealing its first full-electric vehicle in 2025.

In June 2023, Aston Martin announced a partnership with Lucid, a world-leader in the design and manufacture of advanced electric powertrains and battery systems. Both companies will work collaboratively to bring this vehicle to market.

Meanwhile, Aston Martin’s high-performance electrification strategy was awarded £9 million of government funding through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), further supplementing the research and development of Aston Martin’s innovative modular battery electric vehicle (BEV) platform. Awarded following a competitive process, the government grant will support the development of Aston Martin’s luxury BEV platform and enable a route to net-zero, including investment in vehicle light weighting, a digital toolchain and electrification training.

In 2024, we appreciate that certain authorities indicate there possibly may be a global economic slowdown at some point during the year. Similarly, others anticipate that economic growth in the Asia Pacific region will remain resilient.

In Singapore, from mid-2023 we saw that the increase in road tax and Additional Registration Fee (ARF) influenced consumption, and there was a pause in related growth in the short term due to government policy. However, the business remains positive with regards to luxury spending in 2024. Specifically for Aston Martin, 2024 will see new versions of all our core range – new products will also strongly drive consumer interest.”

“Global indicators broadly point towards a worldwide economic slowdown in 2024 and, correspondingly, a slower growth rate of vehicle sales is expected in the coming year. However, Singapore has demonstrated resilience against such conditions time and again.

As a market, Singapore has traditionally had high vehicle premiums, but also a strong luxury share of total demand. Consumers have typically also placed high importance on exclusivity and prestige when looking for a car. Furthermore, as automakers ramp up on producing new high-performance electric vehicles, luxury car buyers can expect to see an increasing number of higher-end options.

The Singapore automotive market is primarily driven by COE quota allocation and prices. In the current 10-year COE cycle, 2023 was the slowest the market has ever been. However, a combination of factors in the coming year will have a strong bearing on COE movements – these include sustained luxury and EV demand, and more vehicles due for deregistration.

In the immediate term, we have seen highly volatile COE prices, and anticipated increases in COE supply will likely help to avoid further COE price increases. The 2024 adjustments to EV tax incentives and the vehicle emissions scheme will impact the prices for select models but are unlikely to slow down the market generally.

Electrification and innovation will continue to accelerate in 2024, as global automakers race to stay ahead of the competition. For those in the luxury automotive market, simply churning out EVs is no longer enough. With evolving consumer awareness and expectations, luxury automakers will need to bring innovation to new levels, paving the way for features that enhance both the driver and passenger experience. Advanced driver-assistance systems, immersive passenger features, and higher levels of connectivity are just some of the many innovations that will come to the forefront in the coming year.

As Audi continues our electrification push, we are committed to not only delivering the distinct luxury and peak performance synonymous with our brand, but also finding new ways of engaging customers, while staying on top of their expectations. This commitment to progress will be exemplified by the Audi Q4 e-tron and SQ8 e-tron, both of which will be showcased at the 2024 Singapore Motorshow in January. These models will expand our current EV offerings here – in particular, the Audi Q4 e-tron will make the Audi e-tron range more accessible, and therefore enable more consumers to consider the switch to EVs. Audi will continue to ensure our product line-up remains innovative, while fulfilling consumer demand and working towards an all-electric future.”

“Due to European Union/government regulations on emissions, the automotive industry is seeing more EVs and hybrids, with growing demand for fuel-efficient and low-emission vehicles. There is also an increasing focus on sustainability, as car manufacturers strive to reduce carbon emissions/footprint.

In 2024, there will constantly be advancements in technologies, and these are opportunities that Lamborghini constantly monitors – technological innovation has always been part of the company’s DNA and is the bridge to a future of new possibilities.

There will be more focus on user experiences, from when a driver gets into the car with the digital content to the connectivity that you can have inside the car and remotely. Manufacturers are creating dedicated applications for their own cars in order to control the car remotely and the new trend in connectivity is mobile phone-based.

We are also seeing a growing number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the Asia Pacific region with an interest in the finer things in life and access to quality products and performance.

In our segment, the demand is usually highly linked to emotive factors. Our products are so compelling and the purchase of a Lamborghini is an emotional and aspirational one. The purchase of a Lamborghini, today more than in other periods, represents not only the fulfilment of a customer’s dream, but is seen also as an investment, given the high residual value that our cars retain over time. The demand for a Lamborghini continues to be high today thanks to the driving emotions provided from our super sport cars and the experiences built around them.

We see the Singapore economy as stable thus we do not expect any slowdown. For Lamborghini, we have an order portfolio which shows us growth in the market, driven by the new V12 Revuelto and the Urus.

As per Lamborghini’s electrification strategy, ‘Direzione Cor Tauri’, announced in 2021, we are now in Phase 2 – the hybridisation phase (2023-2024) – following the global launch of our first hybrid car, the Revuelto, in March 2023.

This year will see the introduction of the Urus hybrid followed by the Huracan plug-in hybrid. And by 2025, all our product lines will be hybridised. This will result in a 50 per cent reduction in CO2 fleet emissions.

In the second part of the decade, we will introduce the first pure-electric Lamborghini, which will be the fourth product line. We revealed the concept car, Lanzador, last August and we had an amazing response. We plan to commence series production of the Lanzador from 2028.

Despite the increase of COE in 2023, our order bank is healthy, and we have cars which will be delivered in 2024. Predicting the trends in COE is not easy. We believe the government will put in place measures to contain the increase of COE as it has done in 2023.”

“While the shift toward electromobility is gaining traction around the world, Porsche is conscious that different markets will adapt to electrification at a different pace. This is why we retain our three-pronged strategy of having efficient yet powerful internal combustion engines (ICE), ultra-efficient plug-in hybrid options, and fully electric powertrains. For example, our latest luxury sedan, the Panamera, will see four different plug-in hybrid variants available, all with improved all-electric range of almost 90 km – more than enough for a daily commute within a metropolitan city.

Despite global headwinds, Porsche has posted robust growth around the world (+10 per cent worldwide September YTD, and +23 per cent in overseas and emerging markets where the Asia Pacific is located). And with many new models, including the all-electric Macan on the horizon for Porsche, we believe the brand is well-positioned to continue delivering great products and experiences to our customers and fans in Singapore and around the Southeast Asia region.

In 2024, the all-electric Macan will be introduced; this important model will tip the scales in terms of ICE vs. electric sales volumes for Porsche all around the world, and so the resultant infrastructure development must be ready. Since it was first announced in 2021, Porsche still offers the largest manufacturer-branded charging network in Singapore, and we are focusing our efforts to maintain this positioning in 2024 and beyond. For instance, we recently launched a new partnership with Mandarin Oriental, Singapore and with it, new Porsche Destination Charging sites in the heart of Marina Bay.”