Certificate of entitlement (COE) prices ended lower across the board at the latest tender yesterday in yet another demonstration of what goes up must come down.

COE premiums for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp finished 1.4 per cent lower at $47,821. COE prices for cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp closed 6.8 per cent lower at $56,032.

Prices for the Open COE, which can be used for any vehicle type except motorcycles but which ends up mostly for bigger cars, ended 5.1 per cent lower at $58,001.

Commercial vehicle COE prices finished $2 lower at $37,000. Motorcycle premiums closed 2.3 per cent lower at $8,501.

Compared with the previous tender two weeks ago, market watchers said the absence of aggressive sales promotions, and new buyers who were put off by recent increases in premiums, were partly responsible for the lower prices.

Singapore Vehicle Traders Association president Eddie Loo said: "The last round was panic bidding ahead of a new emission penalty kicking in, in July.

"But once prices shot up, the demand became soft. So there is a limit as to how much people will pay for a car.

"To me, prices are still high. In my opinion, the fair value for Category A (cars up to 1,600cc) is $30,000-plus. It should not be over $40,000."

Mr Nicholas Wong, general manager of Honda agent Kah Motor, observed that the number of bids fell at the latest tender. He added that there was "still a backlog of cars", which will be affected by the upcoming emission penalty.

"If not for these cars, Category A COE (prices) would have dropped even further because the market is really, really weak," he said.

Inchcape Greater China and Singapore chief executive Jasmmine Wong, who oversees the distribution of Toyota, Lexus and Suzuki brands, said the drop in premiums is welcome, as it means "customers will come back again".

Christopher Tan