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Carmakers grant Singapore 3 exclusive “firsts” this week

The Singapore car market may be small, but judging from three moves by car brands this week, it’s an important one to the industry

SINGAPORE — The Singapore car market might be tiny, but it figures pretty prominently in some carmakers’ plans.

Toyota builds as many cars in three days as the entire Singapore market sells in one year, for example, but that hasn’t stopped the Japanese giant from releasing two exclusives here this week.

Meanwhile, BMW’s high-performance M division, launched Singapore-only cars yesterday.

The BMW M4 Performance Edition comes in a limited run of just 10 units, each one numbered and each in a unique colour, so customers who want one will have to pounce fast.

Each car has a laser engraving on the dashboard’s carbon fibre trim which includes the edition name and limited edition volume. The idea is to remind drivers that “they possess a very exclusive car”, according to a statement from BMW Asia.

The M4 Performance Edition cars come with more bodykit parts in carbonfibre, and cost $433,800 with Certificate of Entitlement — $33,000 more than the price of a regular M4.

But this isn’t the first time there’s been a limited-edition BMW M4. In February, a version of the car that cost nearly $700,000 sold out before it even arrived here.

Catering to more mainstream tastes is the Toyota Harrier, which was launched here on Thursday at the Ritz-Cartlon Millenia hotel.

You might have seen these cars on the road before, so what makes them special to Singapore? The fact that they’re even on sale through “official” channels from authorised dealer Borneo Motors.

That’s because Toyota does not export the Harrier anywhere, and until Thursday the model was a Japan-only car.

Borneo Motors, which is celebrating its 50th year as a Toyota partner, says the fact that it was given the Harrier to sell here is a testament of the two companies’ strong partnership.

As for consumers, the Borneo-sold Harrier comes with one important benefit: a five-year warranty, or if you go for the Luxury model, a full seven years of warranty coverage.

But it’s also sold here with another Singapore first. The country is the first in Southeast Asia to get Toyota’s Safety Sense P suite of crash-avoidance technologies. This gives the Harrier the ability to sense lane markings and warn the driver if he’s about to stray over the line, for example.

It also includes a radar-based cruise control system that lets the Harrier lock on to a target car ahead and adjust its speed automatically.

These features have propelled the Harrier to immediate success. The car was sold out before its launch, and you now have to wait past December to get one if you order it today.

While Toyota has flattered Singapore by exporting the Harrier here, local car buyers seem to have returned the favour.

For the latest motoring news and Singapore car reviews, there is only CarBuyer.com.sg

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