At the latest tender yesterday, most COE prices for cars ended higher.

It was the second exercise in a sizeably smaller quota year, where the overall supply of certificates is 24 per cent lower than the previous year's.

The COE premium for cars up to 1,600cc - the mainstay for buyers - ended 7 per cent higher at $7,589.

The premium for cars above 1,600cc was $7,490, hardly changed from the $7,501 posted two weeks ago.

The price of the open category COE, which can be used for any vehicle type but ends up mainly with car buyers, climbed 6.3 per cent to hit a five-month high of $7,789.

But COE prices for commercial vehicles and motorcycles softened. The premium for vans, buses and lorries dipped by 9.5 per cent to $6,610, while that for two-wheelers fell 15.6 per cent to $889.

Bids started coming in for this exercise on Tuesday, with close to 300 bids submitted for open category COEs - nearly half the quota - by the same evening.

This category turned out to be the most sought after, with close to two bids for every COE available. The other two car categories attracted 1.3 to 1.4 bids for every available COE.

Mr Ron Lim, general manager of Nissan agent Tan Chong, said: 'Sales are difficult to come by during this period. So whatever order you have on hand, you will get the car delivered quickly.'

Read the full story in Thursday's edition of The Straits Times.