COE premiums dip across the board in latest round of bidding
Premiums for certificates of entitlement (COEs) fell across all categories in the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday (April 20).
The premium for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp ended at $68,699, 5.9 per cent lower than the $72,996 from the last exercise.
For cars larger than 1,600cc or more powerful than 130bhp, the COE premium is now at $90,002, 8.5 per cent below the last exercise's $98,389.
The COE premium for commercial vehicles has gone down by 5.3 per cent to $52,002, from $54,901.
For motorcycles, the COE price continued to edge downwards to end at $9,801. This represents a 6.7 per cent fall from the previous round's $10,503.
The Open category COE, which can be used to register any type of vehicles except for motorcycles, fell by 4.2 per cent to $95,801 from $99,999.
Wednesday's bidding exercise is the last one under the current quota period, which is from February to April.
The Land Transport Authority announced last week that there will be 14.3 per cent more COEs available for bidding from May to July than in the current period.
The increase will be spread across all types of COEs except for the one used by larger and more powerful cars. That category will be reduced by 4.2 per cent.
The overall supply of 11,951 COEs is still low when compared with the 16,010 COEs for the same period last year. However, the slightly more generous total quota that applies from the next exercise was seen as a factor in the latest bidding results.
Motor traders, especially those that need to register cars in the smaller engine and power output category, have been anxious to secure COEs during this round of bidding.
From May, the category will include electric vehicles (EVs) with power output of up to 110kW. This EV-specific criterion was announced in Parliament last month to encourage EV adoption.
While it is not likely that EVs will crowd out the existing conventionally powered models in the category, competition is expected to heat up for this type of COE.
| Category | Current COE premium ($) | Previous COE premium ($) |
| A - Car (1,600cc & below) | 68,699 | 72,996 |
| B - Car (above 1,600cc) | 90,002 | 98,389 |
| C - Goods vehicle & bus | 52,002 | 54,901 |
| D - Motorcycle | 9,801 | 10,503 |
| E - Open | 95,801 | 99,999 |
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