COE premiums for large cars and Open category dip

SINGAPORE - Certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums for large cars and the Open category ended lower at the latest tender exercise that closed on Wednesday (Aug 3).

For cars with engines above 1,600cc or 130bhp, and fully electric vehicles (EVs) with more than 110 kilowatts of power, the COE price is $107,001, down 2.7 per cent from $110,003.

Open category COEs, which can be used to register any type of vehicles other than motorcycles, ended at $113,000, a dip of 0.9 per cent from the record high of $114,001.

Premiums for the remaining three types of COEs rose.

The premium for cars with engines up to 1,600cc and 130bhp, and EVs with up to 110kW of power, went from $78,899 to $80,000, an increase of 1.4 per cent.

For commercial vehicles, the COE premium went up by 2.2 per cent from $54,889 to $56,089.

The motorcycle COE premium rose by $90, from $10,910 to $11,000.

This is the first tender exercise under a revised counting method for COEs aimed at reducing fluctuations in supply from quarter to quarter.

The new method is based on 50 per cent of the number of vehicles taken off the road in the previous six months instead of the full three-month figure.

The supply of COEs for the current three-month period, which applies from August to October, is 11.5 per cent lower than the preceding three-month period under the new  method. The reduction would have been more severe, at 21.4 per cent, under the old method, according to the Land Transport Authority.

One motor dealer from a mass-market car brand said showrooms have been empty, with few customers walking in.

He attributed the high premiums and demand for COEs to commercial buyers like leasing companies that are expanding their fleet. 

There were fewer bids received in the car categories than in the two earlier tenders in July, with 1,301 this round compared with 1,536 and 1,595 last month, backing the dealer’s point about lacklustre sales.

Another motor dealer said that even though the market for cars has been weak, some traders may be stocking up on Open category COEs – which are transferable – in preparation for large-scale sale events like the upcoming Cars@Expo on Aug 13 and 14.

Bidding for motorcycle COEs was relatively quiet on Wednesday. It was priced at $1 right up to the final two minutes of the exercise, before the premium surged to close at $11,000.

Mr Rex Tan, president of the Singapore Motor Cycle Trade Association, said such bidding behaviour was not unusual, as the majority of bids would have come from motorcycle retailers who put in bids in bulk. 

He added that the high premiums in this category is more likely an accurate reflection of the demand for motorcycles given the tight COE supply.