COE prices up across the board, Open category hits record high of S$118,001

THE certificate of entitlement (COE) price in the Open category hit a record high of S$118,001 in the tender exercise that closed on Wednesday (Feb 22).

The commercial vehicle COE also set a new record price of S$87,790, and the premiums for all other categories went up.

The price for Open COE at S$118,001 represents an increase of 12.4 per cent from S$105,002 in the last tender exercise. This breaks the record of S$116,577 set in November 2022.

Open COEs can be used to register any vehicle type except motorcycles, but ends up almost exclusively for bigger cars.

The premium for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp, as well as electric vehicles (EVs) with up to 110 kilowatts of power, finished at S$86,556, up 0.7 per cent from the S$86,000 posted in the last tender exercise. This category saw the smallest price increase.

For larger cars and more powerful EVs, the premium was S$115,001, nearly 9 per cent more than the previous S$105,524.

The COE price of S$87,790 for commercial vehicles is 3.1 per cent higher than the record S$85,119 posted in the last round.

The motorcycle premium was S$12,189, which is 5.1 per cent more than last round’s S$11,602, and edging close to the record of S$13,189 set in November 2022.

The tender exercise received more bids for all five categories than in the previous round.

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There were 19.7 per cent more bids for Open category COEs compared with two weeks ago. Industry insiders said that there is a shortage of such COEs in the resale market.

COE traders have been said to be charging premiums in excess of S$100,000 for Open COEs that were secured earlier.

Such COEs are especially valuable for ultra-luxury cars as they would not be subjected to the higher upfront taxes and reduced scrap rebate which would apply to cars registered with COEs secured from Wednesday onwards.

Some car dealerships said that showroom traffic seems to have “almost doubled” over the past two weekends with a corresponding increase in sales, particularly for larger cars.

This is reflected in the additional 32.4 per cent of bids in the COE category for larger cars.

Those dealing with commercial vehicles are under pressure on multiple fronts.

Besides a reduced supply of COEs for such vehicles under the current February to April quota period, sellers of vans and buses are also racing to secure COEs to be registered before the end of March.

This is because from April 1, the Commercial Vehicle Emissions Scheme (CVES) and Early Turnover Scheme (ETS) will be updated with tighter criteria and reduced incentives.

Under the revised CVES, an electric van will get S$15,000 less in incentives, while diesel-powered vans such as the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Toyota Hiace will be slapped with an additional S$5,000 in surcharge.

ETS, which is a discount given to encourage owners to switch to cleaner commercial vehicles, will be reduced.

Given the higher number of unsuccessful bids for all types of COEs this time round, it will likely take a few rounds of tenders for all the orders to be fulfilled, which has led dealers to believe it is likely that the COE prices will stay elevated. THE STRAITS TIMES