Certificates of entitlement (COE) ended mixed in the latest tender yesterday, but premiums remained at among their highest levels this year.

COE for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp closed 2 per cent higher to hit $38,504, its highest since May 2018.

COE for cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp finished 1.3 per cent lower at $40,989, which is still the highest price this year.

Open COE, which can be used for any type of vehicle except motorcycles but ends up being used mostly for bigger cars, closed 0.5 per cent higher at $41,001 - its highest since October last year.

Commercial vehicle COE chalked the biggest gain of 7.3 per cent to end at $28,589, its highest since April last year.

The motorcycle premium finished 0.9 per cent lower at $7,331.

Motor dealers said new car launches - such as the Mercedes-Benz GLA and Honda City - have whipped up consumer interest.

Aggressive promotions by dealers to clear old stock piled up during the April-to-June suspension of COE tenders kept premiums buoyant.

This week, BMW agent Performance Motors announced discounts of up $41,000 on selected models, with the biggest savings on the 5-series.

Meanwhile, a smaller supply of COEs for the current August-October period continued to put pressure on bidding.

The sharp increase in the commercial vehicle premium - its fourth consecutive rise - on the back of a weak business environment can be attributed to dealers starting to clear models which would be affected by a new emissions scheme that starts next April.

Light commercial vehicles which are deemed more pollutive will face a $10,000 surcharge, which immediately makes them less price-competitive. These models are likely to be diesel-powered.