COE prices rise for small cars, motorcycles and Open category

[SINGAPORE] Certificate of entitlement (COE) prices rose for three out of five categories in the latest round of bidding which ended on Wednesday (Dec 19).

The premiums for small cars, motorcycles and Open category all climbed.

COE prices for cars up to 1,600cc closed at $25,501, a rise from the $23,568 during the previous bidding round.

Premiums for motorcycles rose from the previous bidding round, climbing from $3,399 to $3,789.

For the Open COE category, which applies to any vehicle type except motorcycles but typically ends up being used for bigger cars, COE prices closed at $31,809. This is a climb from $30,851 in the previous round.

Meanwhile, COE prices for cars above 1,600cc remained exactly the same at $31,001.

Premiums for goods vehicles and buses dropped from $27,009 in the previous round to $27,001.

Mr Nicholas Wong, general manager of Honda agent Kah Motor, attributed the climb in the small-car premiums to the recently released figures for deregistration of cars in October and November.

Deregistration refers to vehicles being scrapped and hence taken off the roads permanently.

"Deregistration numbers have gone down, which means that from February onwards the quota will be reduced. So dealers will make a move now," he said.

He added that the COE prices for this category had dropped in the previous round from $25,000 to $23,568, leading to demand climbing during the past week.

As for the Open COE category, he explained that dealers are stocking up in anticipation of the Singapore Motorshow next month, hence driving prices up.

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