Motor Vehicle Financing Restrictions Extended to Individual-Owned Private Hire Cars

Key dates

2026-10-29

MAS published the policy statement announcing the extension of motor vehicle financing restrictions to individual-owned PHCs.

2026-10-30 Deadline

New restrictions take effect for individual-owned PHC purchases where the sales agreement is signed on or after this date; where there is no sales agreement, they apply if the COE is obtained on or after this date.

Suggested considerations

• Compliance teams at affected lenders should update eligibility, LTV and tenure controls so that individual-owned PHCs are treated as private cars for transactions falling within the effective-date tests.
• Firms should confirm that the LTV calculation uses the full purchase price, including relevant taxes and the COE price where applicable, and that the OMV threshold is applied at $20,000.
• Lenders and finance providers should review onboarding and documentation controls to distinguish individual or sole-proprietor ownership from business-owned PHC ownership and to evidence the sales-agreement or COE date.
• Providers should assess pending applications, approvals, hire-purchase agreements and conditional sales near the 30 October 2026 transition point, including whether any transaction was restructured to avoid the new restrictions.
• Car dealers and platform operators should consider updating customer disclosures, application workflows and referral arrangements so that individual buyers are not presented with financing terms inconsistent with the new limits.
• Firms should review dealer, leasing and in-house financing products for potential regulatory perimeter or circumvention risk, particularly because the Government has indicated that it may apply equivalent restrictions to additional arrangements.
• Compliance teams may wish to monitor MAS and Government follow-up, including implementation guidance and any measures affecting in-house loans or platform-operated financing channels.
• Firms should consider controls and customer communications addressing unregulated leasing, lease-to-own or other arrangements that may be marketed as alternatives to regulated motor vehicle financing.

What changed

For an individual-owned PHC with an OMV of $20,000 or below, the maximum LTV is 70% of the purchase price, including relevant taxes and the COE price where applicable. For an OMV above $20,000, the maximum LTV is 60%; financing tenure is capped at seven years in both cases. The restrictions apply to motor vehicle loans provided by financial institutions and licensed or exempt moneylenders, and to hire-purchase and conditional sale agreements. They apply where the sales agreement is signed on or after 30 October 2026, or, where there is no sales agreement, where the COE is obtained on or after that date. Commercial vehicles, business-owned PHCs and motorcycles remain exempt; however, individuals acting as sole proprietors are within scope. MAS and the Government may extend the approach to o

Who is affected

• Singapore banks and other financial institutions providing motor vehicle financing
• Licensed and exempt moneylenders providing financing for individual-owned PHCs
• Finance companies and dealers offering hire-purchase or conditional sale arrangements for individual-owned PHCs
• Individuals and sole proprietors purchasing or financing PHCs
• Car dealers, leasing businesses and platform operators involved in PHC registration or financing processes

Related regulations

• MAS Rules for Motor Vehicle Loans
• MAS Notice 642
• Singapore motor vehicle financing restrictions introduced from 27 May 2016