Private-hire car buyers face 60% or 70% loan cap as Government extends financing curbs

Those looking to purchase vehicles registered as private-hire cars (PHCs) will soon be subject to loan-to-value (LTV) limits of up to 70 per cent and a financing tenure cap of seven years, the Government said on Thursday (Oct 29).

Under the new rules, motor vehicles that have an open market value (OMV) of $20,000 and below will have a maximum LTV of 70 per cent of the purchase price including taxes and the Certificate of Entitlement (COE).

Motor vehicles with an OMV of more than $20,000 will have a maximum LTV of 60 per cent, and the tenure of motor vehicle financing arrangements will also be capped at seven years.

The statement, released by the Ministry of Transport, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Law, explained that individual buyers of PHCs will now be subject to the same motor vehicle financing restrictions that apply to private car buyers.

The restrictions will apply to individuals obtaining motor vehicle loans from financial institutions and licensed or exempt moneylenders for the purchase of a PHC. They will also apply where financing takes the form of hire purchase or conditional sale agreements.

These restrictions will come into effect for purchases of individual-owned PHCs, where the sales agreements are signed on or after Friday (Oct 30), the ministries said.

"Where there is no sales agreement, the financing restrictions will apply if the COE is obtained on or after Oct 30, 2026," the statement added.

"Commercial vehicles, business-owned PHCs and motorcycles will continue to be exempt from the financing restrictions."

The Government said the PHC industry has evolved over the years, with the private-hire car fleet growing and stabilising. More recently, it has observed instances of individual buyers registering private cars as PHCs despite having no intention of offering private-hire services.

A recent surge in individual-owned self-drive PHC registrations, at around 500 a month, suggests that some buyers may be doing so primarily to access more permissive financing terms, it added.

"To ensure that PHC purchases cannot be used to circumvent financing restrictions that apply to private car buyers, individual buyers of PHCs will now be subject to the same financing restrictions as private car buyers," the Government said.

"This will also ensure that new PHC drivers exercise the same financial prudence as other private car buyers."

It further added that it will monitor market developments and may take further steps to apply the same restrictions consistently across financing arrangements, such as in-house loans. The Government will also work closely with platform operators to implement the measures effectively and consistently.

khooyihang@asiaone.com

政府周四（10 月 29 日）表示，那些想要购买注册为私人出租车 (PHC) 车辆的人很快将受到贷款价值比 (LTV) 限制，最高可达 70%，融资期限上限为 7 年。

根据新规，公开市场价值 (OMV) 为 20,000 美元及以下的机动车辆，其贷款价值比 (LTV) 最高为购买价格（包括税费和拥车证 (COE)）的 70%。

市场价值超过 20,000 美元的机动车，其最高贷款价值比为 60%，机动车融资安排的期限也将被限制在七年以内。

新加坡交通部、金融管理局、能源、贸易和工业部以及律政部联合发布的声明解释说，个人购买PHC（个人住房合作社）现在将受到与购买私家车相同的汽车融资限制。

这些限制措施将适用于从金融机构和持牌或豁免放贷机构获得汽车贷款以购买家用轿车的个人。此外，如果融资方式为分期付款或附条件销售协议，这些限制措施同样适用。

各部委表示，这些限制措施将适用于个人拥有的基层医疗机构的购买，销售协议必须在周五（10 月 30 日）或之后签署。

声明还补充道：“如果没有销售协议，如果拥车证是在 2026 年 10 月 30 日或之后获得的，则融资限制将适用。”

“商用车辆、企业拥有的家用医疗车和摩托车将继续免受融资限制。”

政府表示，私家车租赁行业近年来不断发展，私家车车队规模不断扩大并趋于稳定。但近期，政府注意到一些个人购车者将私家车注册为私家车，却并无意提供私家车租赁服务。

报告补充说，近期个人拥有的自驾PHC注册量激增，每月约500辆，这表明一些买家这样做主要是为了获得更宽松的融资条件。

政府表示：“为确保个人住房贷款（PHC）购买不会被用来规避适用于私家车购买者的融资限制，个人住房贷款购买者现在将受到与私家车购买者相同的融资限制。”

“这将确保新的私家车驾驶员与其他私家车买家一样，在财务上保持谨慎。”

政府还表示，将密切关注市场动态，并可能采取进一步措施，确保在包括内部贷款在内的各种融资安排中，统一实施相同的限制措施。政府也将与平台运营商紧密合作，确保各项措施得到有效、一致的落实。

khooyihang@asiaone.com