When the doors of Halls 4 & 5 at Singapore Expo Convention & Exhibition Centre opened at 10am on Saturday morning, it was ready to receive the throngs of visitors that had turned up outside its doors.

Organised by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and co-organised by sgCarMart, it was the year’s second edition of Singapore's most renowned bi-annual car show, Cars@Expo.

With over 140,000 visitors over the two-day event, the atmosphere in the halls was lively and filled with excitement as everyone enthusiastically looked at the various car models and accessories on display.

This time, the total sales for the prestigious motoring show racked up more than $190 million in sales and witnessed over 1,800 cars sold.  This is in line with industry expectations of increased buying interest due to soft COE prices, which dipped below $30,000 for cars up to 1,600cc before the event.

Mr Koh Weng Wai, the head of marketing communications at SPH, said: "We'd like to take the opportunity to thank our co-organiser sgCarMart, all our exhibitors and partners for making the second Cars@Expo of 2018 a spectacular success. Over the two-day event, we saw many thrilled faces who will be driving home the car of their dreams, and we look forward to presenting yet another phenomenal Cars@Expo next year."

Unbeatable bargains and prices

The plethora of cars and accessories exhibitors at the show had offered exclusive deals and discounts to those who turned up, and the show never ceases to amaze.

Mr Xie Jianlong, 29, software engineer, said: "I have always known about Cars@Expo, and that this is the place to come to if you need a good family car. It was also through sgCarMart that I got to know of the amazing deals and discounts that were being offered, and it really acted as the push factor in my decision to buy the car."

Shoppers who were looking for a new car could take their pick from popular automotive brands like Audi, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, Lexus, Mazda, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and more, and the 2-day event definitely had something in store for everyone regardless of their interest.

Mr Lee Hoe Lone, managing director at Premium Automobiles (Audi), said: "Cars@Expo is an opportunity for us to demonstrate the attractiveness of the Audi brand, and to bring our brand to more consumers. Visitors to Cars@Expo were able to experience two of the very latest models, the Audi A7 Sportback and Audi Q8, along with the other exciting Audi models up close. We believe that when people see, touch and feel the cars, they will want one for themselves."

Pre-owned car dealers such as BW Automobiles, Hamilton Autohub, Wearnes Automotive, Universe Motoring, and more, were also at the show, bringing to the crowd attractive deals for those who knew exactly what they were looking for at the motoring show.

Mr  S.K Rai, 42, Ops Director from Hamilton Autohub Pte Ltd, said: "This is our third year with Cars@Expo, and it is a great experience and platform to reach out to new and recurring customers who look forward to our range of cars on display. It is also our way of positioning Hamilton Autohub in the industry, and a great opportunity to network with fellow car dealers."

Autobacs Singapore, Neomat, Stamford Tyres International, ZMC Automotive and many others, were part of the car accessories exhibitors who were also present, handing out sweet deals for the latest car gadgets and products to new and existing car owners.

This was definitely true for those who could not resist the amazing deals for car accessories that were dished out, such as dash cams, tyres, and car-related cleaning products.

Take for example, the BlackVue DR705S-2CH and DR590W-2CH dash cams that were selling at $398 and $568, instead of their usual prices of $478 and $648 respectively, during the two-day show.

The halls were filled with car lovers and enthusiasts, many of whom also brought along their family members and friends to enjoy the spectacular scale of the event. Everyone had a great time viewing their cars of choice up close, and even climbing into the driver’s seat themselves!

Ms Jenny Tan Xin Yi, 30, purchaser, said: "This is the first time I am here with my husband and we have already heard a lot about Cars@Expo from our friends and the newspaper advertisements. The halls are filled with so many exhibitors from the different automotive brands, and we specially came down to buy the car that we already had in mind."

For photos and highlights of the event, please see below: