SINGAPORE – Premiums for certificates of entitlement (COEs) fell for most categories at the final tender exercise for 2022 that closed on Wednesday afternoon, with only large cars bucking the trend to post an increase.
The COE for cars with engines up to 1,600cc and 130bhp, as well as electric vehicles (EVs) with up to 110 kilowatts of power, ended at $88,007, which is 0.6 per cent below the $88,503 recorded two weeks ago.
In the category for larger cars and more powerful EVs, the premium rose from $105,501 to $108,006 – an increase of 2.4 per cent.
Motorcycle COE prices ended lower at $11,690, a drop of 3.4 per cent from $12,100 posted in the previous round.
Commercial vehicle COE premiums fell by 4.1 per cent, from $81,501 to $78,200, posting the biggest drop among the categories.
Open category COEs, which can be used to register any type of vehicle other than motorcycles, ended at $109,600, which is 0.8 per cent below the $110,524 in the previous tender exercise.
Bidding progressed slowly, the same way it did at the Dec 7 tender. Until the last 11 minutes of the tender on Wednesday, there were fewer bids submitted than the available number of COEs in the small-car and Open categories. The bulk of the bids for motorcycle COEs came only in the final three minutes of the exercise.
The race for Open category COEs picked up the pace, after the COEs for larger and more powerful cars and EVs went above the $100,000 mark.
Industry observers said dealers want to stock up on Open COEs during this round to use them at the Singapore Motorshow in January 2023. Such COEs can be used to immediately register vehicles for customers instead of their having to wait to bid for a COE at the next tender.
Ms Corinne Chua, managing director for Volvo Cars at Wearnes Automotive, had expected premiums to fall, given how showrooms have been quiet over the past two weeks. However, she said, Wednesday’s results suggest that the $8,380 dip in price from Nov 23’s $113,881 to Dec 7’s $105,501 for the COE for larger and more powerful cars and EVs has had a positive effect on sales.
Mr Raymond Liu, general manager for sales at Mini, also said sales have picked up for the models that come under this COE category.
Over the past two weeks, there has been talk that premium brands, especially BMW, are offering attractive deals for models in the COE segment for less powerful cars to meet their sales targets. However, this has not translated to higher COE prices in the category at Wednesday’s tender.
