2024 Singapore Motor Show: What's hot and coming to PH

The 2024 Singapore Motor Show opened its doors again at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre to Singaporean and regional visitors to see the latest offerings from 25 major global automotive brands. This year's event featured 25 new vehicle launches, 18 of which were electrified vehicles (xEVs).

Motor Traders Association of Singapore president Glenn Tan expressed optimism for auto sales this year as the government opened more COE (Certificate of Entitlement) allocations at "more reasonable" prices.

Singapore, being a small country, requires a COE as a right to own and operate a vehicle in Singapore to reduce congestion. The validity is 10 years, a renewal of which can be applied for at a higher rate called the Prevailing Quota Premium (PQP) or owners can choose to de-register the vehicle and apply it for scrapping.

Opening the preview day was Motor Image Enterprises with their Nissan and Subaru brands. Subaru presented new "GT Edition" kitted versions of the Crosstrek e-Boxer, WRX, and WRX Wagon; also shown was a BRZ STI Edition with STI-branded ground effects and a carbon fiber rear wing.

Motor Image head honcho Glenn Tan revealed that the GT Edition models are coming to the Philippines in April along with the BRZ STI Edition.

Suzuki brought in a Jimny 5-Door to gauge consumer interest. This is the first-ever 5-door version of the Jimny nameplate for Suzuki and it will be launched in the Philippines in two weeks.

As mentioned earlier, 18 electrified vehicles were unveiled at the show. GWM's Ora unveiled the 07 EV otherwise known as the "Grand Cat". Citroen unveiled their e-C4x EV. Mercedes-Benz showed off its Concept EQG, the fully electrified version of its popular G Wagon. MG unveiled the MG9 MPV which is the twin of the Maxus Mifa 9 EV, which were simultaneously on the same show floor offered by different distributors. Kia highlighted their presence with the EV9 flagship EV SUV. Omoda displayed the the E5 EV. Polestar also previewed some of its future EV offerings, but the Polestar 6 roadster definitely caught our attention.

BMW chose to unveil two compact crossovers at this year's show. The all-new iX1 eDrive20 EV and the all-new X2.

For MINI, the Concept Aceman gathered a lot of eyeballs with its quirky design and LED graphics show. The production model is expected to debut globally later this year. The Aceman is a dedicated EV model and will slot in between the Cooper and Countryman. It will use a new platform co-developed by BMW and Chinese automaker GWM and will be built in China by 2025.

Audi unveiled the new Q4 e-tron for the first time in ASEAN. The left-hand drive version preview at the show gave us a very accurate preview of what to expect in our market soon. Their compact crossover offering is expected to go against the BMW iX3 and Mercedes-Benz EQC.

Volvo did the ASEAN reveal of their EX30 compact crossover EV. The Chinese-made EX30 shares its platform with the Zeekr X and Smart #1, and will be arriving middle of 2024 in the Philippines at a very competitive price according to Froilan Valencia, sales head of Volvo PH.

An additional adrenaline rush for showgoers is the Russ Swift Stunt Show by Subaru Asia with Russ Swift doing daring precision driving stunts with the latest Subaru BRZ, Forester, and WRX models.

Electrifying expectations

As the first motor show in the ASEAN region, the Singapore Motor Show, which spans four days (like motor shows in the Philippines) gives a glimpse of some of the cars to expect in our market this year. Much like a quick jolt, we expect the new offerings to be electrifying.