Here are five of 2021 stories that you should read covering important topics for Singapore’s car buyers, including safety, delivery delays and more

SINGAPORE – It’s the end of 2021 and that means yearly roundups. We’ve already debuted our Top 10 most read News Stories, Top 10 Car Reviews, and Top 10 Videos from our YouTube channel.

The nature of the ‘Net means stuff with lots of money, sex, or novelty (or all three) become click-leaders, but it’s CarBuyer’s mission to deliver stories we feel are important to our readers. Here are six stories that you definitely should read if only for the fact that it will give you a deeper understanding and help possible issues you could face as a car buyer/owner.

5. Toyota’s huge EV push

The wave of e-motoring is building into a unstoppable tsunami, so it might come as a surprise that Japanese carmakers aren’t on the leading edge of that wave, hybrids aside. Which is why Toyota announcing a huge push towards fully-electric cars was such an eye-opener: A S$96bn investment, 30 EV models by 2030, with targets for 3.5m sales by 2030. The cherry on top? Lexus will become a fully electric brand with an electric-LFA-alike halo sports model.

4. Safety systems familes should shortlist

The most unpopular subject when it comes to car is definitely safety, which is a pity since it’s quite important and that explains the presence of three safety-related stories in this article. The first is our list of safety systems that driving families should look out for – safety systems have become very advanced, so our list tells you which to shortlist to help ensure safety for all onboard.

3. Child Seats – a primer for Singaporean parents

Here’s a good reason to pay attention to child seat-related safety: ” A 2017 study conducted by KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore found that out of 2,468 road-accident related injuries in Singapore, 51 percent involved children who were unrestrained in vehicles at the time of the accident.” In other words, putting a kid in your lap while in a moving vehicle ain’t gonna cut it. We tell you all you need to know about proper child seats for cars.

2. EV Weekend Singapore

EV Weekend is Singapore’s first and largest showcase of electric cars and predictably it made a big impact here – but since the event happened in early December, it didn’t rank as high on the click-list as it should. You can find out here what exactly went down at the event, how it showed where Singapore is on the e-motoring journey, and how it’s sparked plenty of buzz from attendees and the motoring industry.

1. Takata Airbag Redux / Great Chip Shortage

Yes we lied and it’s actually six stories, but tied for the Top 5 Stories You Shold Have Read are these two: One is the the fact that the Takata Catastrophe is still claiming lives. Five years ago, Takata’s mis-made airbag inflators turned a life-saving system into a life-taking one, and it’s still one of the biggest recalls/safety failures ever. This year, US regulators reopened the investigation because lives are still being claimed by the fallout. While the risk in Singapore where extensive recalls were carried out, it’s still good to know this in case you buy a second hand car, and the fact that it’s important to be up to date on safety recalls.

The second story is more relevant to new car buyers, and some here have already faced the problem unfortunately. Due to Covid messing up the world’s supply chains and semiconductor contracts, there’s now a chip crunch with a shortage of the precious silicon that pretty much runs the world these days – cars have anything from 1,000 chips and up, which is why delivery delays are to be expected well into 2022.

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