Fewer car COEs in next quota

THE certificate of entitlement (COE) quota shrinks for the second straight quarter, contracting 6.2 per cent to 24,234 for the November 2016 to January 2017 period.

Of the five COE categories, only the two non-passenger car categories will expand. Category C - for goods vehicles and buses - will enjoy an increase of 3.1 per cent to 361 COEs per month, while Cat D - for motorcycles - rises 3.2 per cent to 3,688 COEs each month.

On the other hand, Cat A - for cars below 1,600cc and 130hp - suffers the biggest cut of 8.2 per cent to 3,688 COEs each month.

Cat B - for cars above 1,600cc or 130hp - will dip 7 per cent to 2,486 COEs each month, while Cat E - the open category whose premium currently tracks that of Cat B - slides 6.8 per cent to 799 COEs monthly.

The current August to October 2016 quota is 10.6 per cent smaller than the May to July 2016 period because of the slower rate of vehicle deregistrations.