SINGAPORE – Certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums rose in all categories except for motorcycles at the tender exercise that closed on April 17.
The price of COEs for smaller, less powerful cars (Category A) ended at $94,010, a hike of 5.6 per cent from $89,000 posted two weeks ago.
For larger, more powerful cars (Category B), the premium climbed 0.7 per cent to end at $102,001, from $101,334.
Open category COEs – used almost exclusively for larger, more powerful cars – ended at $103,249, 2.2 per cent up from $101,002 in the previous tender exercise.
Commercial vehicle COE premiums ended at $68,502, up 1.5 per cent from the previous $67,501.
The motorcycle COE price fell to $9,990 from $10,000, a dip of $10, or 0.1 per cent.
The premiums of certificates in the car categories rose with fewer bids received.
There were 1,390 bids entered In Category A, compared with between 1,866 and 1,931 bids seen in previous rounds since February.
This means that there were fewer unsuccessful bids from the latest round than previously.
Motor dealers representing mass-market and luxury car brands said the lower number of bids suggests that the sales orders taken in January during the Singapore Motorshow have been cleared. These are deals that allowed the sellers up to six bids – or three months – to secure the COE to deliver cars.
The latest tender exercise was the final one under the February-April COE quota period. The number of COEs available in the May-July period has not been announced yet.
Not knowing the upcoming COE supply, dealers said, influenced how they bid on April 17.
Mr Ng Choon Wee, commercial director of Komoco Motors, which distributes Hyundai cars, said: “There is a chance that orders taken at The Car Expo over the weekend were not entered in at the latest round as dealers are expecting more COEs to be released for the next quota period.”
The Car Expo was a large-scale event held on April 13 and 14. It was organised by SPH Media, which publishes The Straits Times.
Mr Nicholas Wong, chief executive of Honda’s agent, Kah Motor, pointed out that with the next tender exercise three weeks away – one more than the usual two-week gap – some dealers would want to secure Open category COEs to allow them to register cars without having to wait for the next tender.
A luxury car brand’s senior manager, who did not want to be named, believes Open category certificates are in demand only by “volume players” with sufficient ready stock to deliver cars.
Since March, the premium for the Category A COE has been rising more than the one for Category B. This has resulted in the price gap between the two categories narrowing.
At the latest tender exercise, $7,991 separated the two categories. This is the closest it has been since January 2021, when the difference was $8,392. In contrast, the difference in premium between the two car COE categories in 2022 and 2023 was around $30,000.
Mr Wong attributed the hike in the Category A COE price in recent months to the popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) that qualify for such COEs.
This includes mass-market and premium brand models. EVs qualify for a higher tax rebate than internal combustion engine cars.
