COE prices closed mostly lower at end of latest bidding exercise

SINGAPORE — In an outcome that surprised motor dealers, Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums closed mostly lower at the end of the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday (Jan 17).

Category A premiums for small cars (up to 1600CC & 97KW) decreased most significantly, by 10.9 per cent to S$36,890.

Large cars (Category B; above 1600CC OR 97KW) saw premiums drop by 5.8 per cent, from S$45,289 in the previous bidding exercise to S$42,661.

Premiums for Open category, where COEs can be used for any type of vehicles but are usually used for larger cars, fell by 7.2 per cent to S$44,000.

Goods vehicles and buses (Category C) saw COE prices go down by 2.7 per cent to S$39,000.

Only motorcycle COEs (Category D) bucked the trend, rising 3.9 per cent to S$8,001.

Motor dealers had expected premiums to increase after a motorshow held last week. But they said the uncertainty over the stricter emission rules – which took effect in January – could have reined prices in.

Dealers were unsure in recent weeks how the Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES) – which replaced the Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme – would affect rebates, and some delayed their orders until the tail-end of last year, said Mr Jeremy Soh, director of used car dealer Ricardo Cars.

With insufficient stock on hand, dealers could have been deterred from “fierce bidding” in the latest exercise, he said.

Yong Lee Seng Motor managing director Raymond Tang agreed, saying car buyers might still be doing their research on the VES’ impact on rebates and surcharges. “Among the customers, there might still be some uncertainty still,” he said.

From next month, the growth rate of cars and motorcycles (Categories A, B and D) will be cut from 0.25 per cent to zero in the bid by the authorities to go car-lite.