SINGAPORE – Certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums climbed across most categories on Sept 18, with the Open category recording the biggest rise to hit $113,104.
This is the highest since December 2023, when the price of an Open category (Category E) certificate was $118,388.
At $98,524, the price of a Category A COE, meant for smaller and less powerful cars and electric vehicles (EVs), was 2.1 per cent higher than the $96,490 recorded at the previous exercise on Sept 4.
It is the highest Category A price so far in 2024.
For Category B COEs, used to register larger and more powerful cars and EVs, the premium was $110,001, up 3.5 per cent from $106,300 previously.
The Open category COE premium of $113,104 was 5.8 per cent higher than the $106,901 from the previous round. Such certificates can be used to register any vehicle type other than motorcycles, but are almost always used for bigger, more powerful cars.
The commercial vehicle (Category C) COE premium stayed flat at $74,000, just $1 below the price set two weeks ago.
The premium for a motorcycle (Category D) COE rose by 1 per cent to end at $9,900, up from $9,801.
COEs give people the right to own and use a vehicle in Singapore.
The next COE tender exercise will close on Oct 9 – three weeks after the Sept 18 exercise, which is longer than the typical two-week interval.
Some motor dealers were surprised by the latest tender results.
Mr Jason Lim, managing director of BMW Eurokars Auto, said that traders were expecting COE premiums in both car categories to fall by “$2,000 to $3,000”, as business has been slow after premiums went up across the board at the last exercise held two weeks ago.
Instead, COE premiums rose by $2,034 in Category A and $3,701 in Category B.
A sales manager from a mass-market car brand, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the media, said the market talk was that aggressive sales promotions from some major brands have not been able to significantly drive up orders over the past two weeks.
Even so, there was a sizeable number of bids in the previous round held on Sept 4 that were not successful – 342 bids in Category A and 267 in Category B, for cars that would have been sold earlier.
These bidders would have been in the mix at the latest tender exercise if the dealers wanted to be able to register the cars.
At the end of the latest tender exercise, there were 468 unsuccessful bids for COEs in Category A and 223 in Category B. Motor dealers said these unsuccessful bidders will likely return to bid in upcoming tender exercises, putting upward pressure on premiums.
COE prices up for most categories; Open category reaches $113,104, highest since Dec 2023
