The Australian High Commissioner to Singapore, Doug Chester, believes Holden Special Vehicles will succeed in its latest export mission given the strength of the local economy โ and urged other Australian car manufacturers to follow.
Holden cars have returned to Singapore after a 19-year absence after HSV secured an export deal with a local car distributor.
The Commissioner told a gathering of 200 VIP guests and media at a gala dinner in Singapore last night that there is a ready market for premium Australian-made vehicles.
"There is a significant number of Ferraris and Lamborghinis and the like in Singapore and I think a good performance Australian sedan would be attractive to a large proportion of Singaporeans," he told the Carsales Network.
"Singapore has had a long and close association with Australia. A lot of Singaporeans got their driving licences in Australia and learned to drive in Australian cars. If you look at some of the old photos of Singapore from the 1960s, 70s and 80s and there are Australian cars everywhere."
He said that, over the years, more than 150,000 Singaporeans have come to Australia to study at university and today between 8000 and 9000 Singaporean students enroll in Australian universties each year.
"Given the familiarity we have with each other, the market for HSV vehicles and Australian vehicles in general, will be a success in Singapore," he said.
There are 23,000 Australians living in Singapore and more than 2000 companies from the mining sector to the technology sector. "So the ties are very strong and there is a good understanding of Australian culture," he said.
At the launch of HSV in Singapore last week, the first two customers to place orders were two ex-pat Australian business partners. They ordered a GTS each, to use as daily drive cars instead of their Ferraris. While the younger, affluent Singaporeans seemed more interested in the Maloo. "There is nothing like this car here," one said.
The Commissioner said that the right type of Australian-made vehicles could sell in Singapore.
"There's no reason you can't sell Australian manufactured vehicles here [but] it depends what type of vehicle you're trying to sell. It would be hard to compete with cheaper cars but there is a market for mid- to upper-end specialist cars.
"Singapore is an affluent society, there's a large number of middle class, upper class and wealthy people in Singapore and they like they're cars. They may not have far to drive but it's part of the lifestyle here."
The Commissioner said the automotive manufacturing sector is a "very important part of Australian manufacturing".
"It employs around 200,000 people and 20 per cent of the research and development investment that's done in Australia is done in the auto industry," he said.
The Commissioner, speaking candidly, told the audience he was looking forward to seeing more Holdens on Singapore roads because the arrival of HSV meant there was now somewhere for the Australian embassy's fleet of four late-model Holdens (two Commodores and two Statesman sedans) to be serviced.
The Commissioner, who has a specially imported Holden Statesman as his head-of-mission vehicle, was cheered by the Singaporean audience when he promised to "flash" his headlights when he sees an HSV on the road.
"I'm pleased we'll see more Holden cars. If anyone buys one tonight I will flash my headlights when we see each other," he said.
The Commissioner also hoped the arrival of HSV may lead to a round of the Australian V8 Supercar championship in Singapore. The series already has races in the Middle East.
"Perhaps HSV's presence may be a forerunner to the arrival of V8 Supercars in Singapore," he said. "I think we should be putting a little bit of pressure on Tony Cochrane and V8 Supercars to bring V8 Supercars to Singapore."
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site.