Cat A COE premium hits $96,490 – highest so far in 2024
Certificate of entitlement (COE) prices rose across all five categories at the latest tender exercise on Sept 4, with the premium for smaller, less powerful cars rising to $96,490, the highest so far in 2024.
The premium for a Category A certificate, which is used to register smaller, less powerful cars and electric vehicles (EVs), was 2.8 per cent above the $93,900 recorded at the previous exercise on Aug 21.
The Category A premium of $96,490 is higher than the previous 2024 peak of $94,289 recorded on Aug 7.
COEs give people the right to own and use a vehicle in Singapore.
For Category B COEs, meant for larger, more powerful cars and EVs, the premium climbed 0.4 per cent to $106,300, from $105,889.
The price of an Open category (Category E) COE was $106,901, 0.8 per cent higher than the previous premium of $106,001. Such certificates can be used to register any vehicle type other than motorcycles, but are almost always used for bigger, more powerful cars.
The motorcycle (Category D) COE premium rose by the largest margin of 5.3 per cent, from $9,310 to $9,801.
The commercial vehicle (Category C) COE premium was $74,001, 2.2 per cent above the $72,400 recorded previously. This is the fifth consecutive increase for this COE category.
Motor dealers told The Straits Times that they expected premiums to be high in the latest round on the back of recent car launches and aggressive promotional events by brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
The upcoming Car Expo in October, as well as a three-week gap after the next COE tender exercise in September, also spurred dealers to put in higher bids this time to secure certificates and fulfil orders.
Mr Ng Lee Kwang, board adviser to Goldbell Corp, which specialises in leasing and distributing commercial and industrial vehicles, believes Chinese EV brand BYD, which has been selling well in 2024, influenced the latest results.
He pointed to figures showing that BYD had registered 520 cars in July, the majority of which were Category A COE EVs. On average, there are fewer than 2,000 Category A COEs available for bidding each month.
In August, Japanese carmaker Toyota launched the new Camry, a Category B COE car, and Honda started collecting orders for its new Freed hybrid, a Category A COE car. These key models are expected to sell well, said industry watchers.
In anticipation of vehicle stock arriving for delivery in November, Honda agent Kah Motor has started securing the needed COEs for the orders collected, said its chief executive, Mr Nicholas Wong. Category A and B COEs can be held for up to six months before registration.
Ms Corinne Chua, managing director overseeing Volvo at motor group Wearnes Automotive, said the Category B COE price would likely be around the current level in the next exercise in September, given that there were fewer unsuccessful bids in this category this time (259) than in the previous round of bidding (299).
She believes that the Open Category COE premium may continue to rise because of the three-week gap between the next COE tender on Sept 18 and the subsequent exercise on Oct 9.
With the gap between tenders being a week longer than usual, dealers would typically want to secure such COEs in advance to be able to register cars immediately, instead of waiting until the next exercise.
Other dealers said those with orders on hand are also moving to secure Category A or B COEs in September before The Car Expo event in October.
The large-scale event organised by SPH Media, which publishes ST, is expected to improve overall sales, and this could put upward pressure on COE premiums in the coming exercises, the dealers said.
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