Cat A COE price hits 1-year high of $103,799 as premiums rise across the board
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The Category B COE premium climbed 5.5 per cent to $116,002.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
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SINGAPORE – Certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums went up across the board on Oct 9, with premiums for smaller cars reaching a one-year high.
At $103,799, the price of a Category A COE – meant for smaller and less powerful cars and electric vehicles (EVs) – was $5,275, or 5.4 per cent, higher than the $98,524 recorded at the previous exercise
This is the highest price for Category A since October 2023, when it hit $106,000. It is also the first time in 2024 that the premium crossed the $100,000 mark.
The premium for a Category B COE, used to register larger and more powerful cars and EVs, climbed 5.5 per cent to $116,002, from $110,001 previously.
The price of an Open category (Category E) COE ended at $116,000, 2.6 per cent higher than the $113,104 from the previous round. These certificates can be used to register any vehicle type other than motorcycles, but are almost always used for bigger, more powerful cars.
The commercial vehicle (Category C) COE premium climbed to $75,009, 1.4 per cent higher than the $74,000 registered three weeks ago.
The premium for a motorcycle (Category D) COE rose by 1 per cent to end at $10,001, up from $9,900 in the previous tender.
COEs give people the right to own and use a vehicle in Singapore.
The latest COE tender comes days after the Land Transport Authority’s announcement on Oct 4 that the number of certificates available for bidding between November 2024 and January 2025 will increase by 3.6 per cent to 15,834
Motor dealers The Straits Times interviewed said the higher COE premiums across the board were expected, given the three-week gap between this exercise and the previous one on Sept 18, instead of the regular two-week interval. This gave dealers more time to collect orders.
The large-scale car sales event The Car Expo
Mr Ng Choon Wee, commercial director of Hyundai distributor Komoco Motors, said there were many genuine buyers at The Car Expo looking to replace their cars, driving up demand for COEs.
This was borne out in the number of unsuccessful bids at the end of the latest tender: 618 in Category A and 432 in Category B. Mr Ng said these figures rose significantly from the previous exercise on Sept 18, when there were 468 unsuccessful bids in Category A and 223 in Category B.
Ms Corinne Chua, managing director overseeing Volvo at motor group Wearnes Automotive, agreed, noting that there were several premium brands selling smaller cars and EVs that qualified for Category A COEs at The Car Expo. These brands received quite a good number of orders, she said.
Mr Jason Lim, managing director of BMW Eurokars Auto, noted that many new Chinese brands are entering the market
He also observed steady crowds with strong buying interest at BMW’s booth at The Car Expo.
Looking ahead, Komoco’s Mr Ng does not foresee an immediate drop in COE prices at the next tender on Oct 23. He predicts that prices would soften gradually towards the end of 2024 owing to the increase in COE quota.
