Fellow Motorist: Charmain Kwee, group executive director, Eurokars Group

Ms Charmain, 28, joined the multi-dealership business owned by her father Karsono Kwee in 2022 and is among the next generation of Singaporean motor-trade leaders. We catch up with the ex-lawyer in her office at 11 Kung Chong Road.

When did you qualify as a licensed driver?

I’ve been driving since I was 16, in Perth, where I spent most of my holidays. 

In Australia, they let you drive first with an authorised guardian, someone with a driving licence, and after you clock a certain number of hours, then you can do a practical. I got my driving licence there. 

But my dad still believed strongly in the Singapore system, so I went through the whole drill - BBDC (Bukit Batok Driving Centre), I was just there to follow the motion. I passed the test on my first attempt.

[Charmain whips out her licence and slaps it on the table.] My driving licence has the SG50 logo!

What do you like about motoring in Singapore?

It’s not as chaotic as in neighbouring cities. I like the fact that driving is safe. If you drive around and park a nice car in a carpark, nobody will steal the wheels. 

We have traffic rules, but they are meant to genuinely warn road users, not so much to penalise us. In Singapore, at least they alert you about speed cameras. 

What do you dislike about motoring in Singapore?

Traffic during rush hour is quite jialat (bad).

Remember your first car in Singapore?

MINI Cooper S cabriolet, my 18th birthday present [pictured below]. 

What were your other memorable cars?

Baby-blue Macan GTS, around 2015 or 2016 when I was in university. It was probably our 2016 Singapore Motorshow car. I really liked the colour, but initially I wasn’t comfortable with driving such a bright-coloured car.  

I’m very blessed to have driven a lot of nice performance cars. The thing is, they keep changing, which also reminded me to not get too attached to some things. 

What is your take on “car-lite” in Singapore?

It’s good that our government is investing in “car-lite” alternatives, it’s a good ideal for us to work towards. But I don’t think it’ll be the overarching end goal in Singapore for transport. 

I think from a policy perspective, it’s not wrong. Given the space restraints in Singapore, I can understand the need for basically wanting to push more towards mass public transport instead of allowing more individual road users with personal vehicles. 

Realistically, the pace of living in Singapore is fast. Therefore, our priority is efficiency - for certain lifestyles or occupations, you need to run from place to place, so the convenience is important to us, especially when time is a pressing matter. Of course, it’s also more convenient to bring the family or the elderly out in a car. 

What do you hope to achieve as Eurokars Group executive director?

To grow the group’s brand portfolio as well as drive the internal growth of the group. Not just the different car makes and models, but also expand the ancillary services of Eurokars, such as leasing, pre-owned, body and paint, and so on. 

I also want to continually deliver on our promise of elevating the Eurokars customer experience to ensure that convenience and comfort are always a priority for our customers. 

Charmain remembers the baby-blue Porsche Macan she used to drive.

Read More: Fellow Motorist: Ong Lay Ling, Group CEO, Eurokars Group

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