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ON GOOD months last year, Mr Rahmat Mohamad Isa could sell up to 10 new cars a month.
With an average $500 in commission for each car sold, the sales manager could take home just under $6,000, basic pay included.
But today, those good old days are over, said the veteran car dealer.
He said this is the worst slump he has seen in his 16 years in the car industry.
Mr Rahmat, 60, managed to sell only two cars last month. He said the situation has been dismal for the past few months, but could not provide exact sales figures.
He took home only about $1,500 last month. On average, he earns $3,000 a month.
He expects this month to be even worse - he has not sold any car yet.
He lamented: "Our basic pay is only about $500 and if we don't sell any cars, it's almost impossible to survive.
"Some of my friends who used to sell about 30 cars a month have not sold a single car in two to three
months. That's how bad the industry is."
Mr Rahmat is not alone.
Ten other car sales executives The New Paper spoke to at showrooms along Alexandra Road, Ubi and Turf
Club Automobile Emporium said sales of new cars have fallen by between 30 and 50 per cent from last year.
The New Paper contacted at least five car distributors here, including Kah Motor, Borneo Motors and
Komoco Motors. But all declined to reveal their sales figures.
New vehicle sales could possibly sink below 55,000 cars this year - less than half the average 117,000 sold
each year in the last decade, reported The Straits Times earlier this month.
Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices hit a 10-year high last month - about $49,000 for open category - due largely to a reduction of COE quotas which came into effect that month.
The result? New cars have become more expensive.
For Mr Rahmat, his 18-member sales team at Car City, a parallel importer, has shrunk to just five people.
The company sells Japanese, Korean and continental cars.
There was a time when he was glad just to catch a 15-minute breather between attending to customers.
Now,walk-in customers are fewand far between. Said Mr Rahmat: "Our showroom used to be so packed, even the sales director would have to help attend to customers.
"Now, he can stay in his room because there are just so few customers. Many colleagues knew they just
couldn't survive in this industry any more and decided to change jobs."
Some have set up their own businesses while others have moved to the real estate industry hoping to earn
more, he said.
Mr Rahmat now spends his day chit-chatting with his colleagues while waiting for the occasional customer
to show up.
He considers himself lucky as his two grown children help to support the family.
"I have some savings and my children are working, so it's not so bad. But some of my colleagues have even
fallen into debt because they earn too little," he said.
Few customers
When The New Paper visited the Turf Club Automobile Emporium onTuesday, there were few customers.
Some dealers said the situation is the same on weekends.
Said Mr Rahmat, who was casually dressed with his shirt tucked out and unbuttoned at the top: "We used to wear ties and tuck our shirts in. But now, there's no point dressing up. There aren't any customers to serve."
Over at Alexandra, the situation at some of the spanking new showrooms was the same - few customers, many sales executives.
Car salesmen The New Paper spoke to said they typically earn a basic salary, but rely on sales commission for the bulk of their income.
A sales executive, who wanted to be known only as Ms Lim, said: "If I'm lucky, I can sell one car a month
now. But I have colleagues who have not sold a single one in a few months.
"Customers now think thrice, even four times before buying a car, whereas before they used to make quicker
decisions and doless homework."
The number of new cars registered fell by 29,000 - from about 97,000 in 2008 to just 68,000 last year, according to the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) website.
The used car market, on the other hand, has grown.
In the first three months of this year, 25,754 vehicles changed hands, up from 19,704 in the same period last
year, according to a Straits Times report last month.
Mr Damien Lim, 34, an IT manager, was one of those who chose to buy a second-hand car over a new
one.
"I got my Honda Stream within two weeks and I avoided the disappointment of not getting a COE, especially
when prices were going through the roof," he said.
Mr Lim paid $65,000 for his three-year-old car. A new one costs about $90,000 including COE.
Professor Paul Barter, an urban transport analyst, said it's unlikely COE prices will return to as low as they
were before.
He said: "With the supply of COE down and the demand of cars remaining constant, prices naturally rise.
"And if the economy continues to do well, the high COE prices look set to stay for awhile. Or at least until
people become discouraged at the high COE prices and switch to public transport."
This article was first published in The New Paper.
dun worry, the govt will import more FT to help you, ok?
