SINGAPORE — Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums climbed across the board at the close of the latest bidding exercise today (March 18), although prices for some of the categories remained below levels seen in January.

Category A premiums for small cars (up to 1,600cc and 97kW) rose by 5.4 per cent to S$64,700, compared with S$61,410 at the earlier bidding exercise this month.

Category B premiums for big cars (above 1,600cc and 97kW) closed at S$71,889, up 4.7 per cent from S$68,668.

Category C premiums for commercial vehicles rose for the fourth consecutive time, this time by 6.2 per cent, to S$59,999, from S$56,501.

Motorcycle premiums, which fell slightly to S$5,501 in the last bidding exercise, saw a 2 per cent increase to S$5,610.

In the Open Category, where the COEs can be used for any vehicle type but end up being used mainly for cars, premiums rose 2.3 per cent to S$72,100, up from S$70,500.

However, the premiums for some of these categories are still lower than those recorded in the second bidding exercise in January. For example, Category A premiums in that exercise closed at S$65,001; Category B at S$76,889, and the Open Category at S$76,790.

Vehicle traders told TODAY that factors driving the increase in COE prices this time around include a backlog of bids and a rush to buy cars before the revised Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS) comes into effect on July 1. The CEVS is aimed at encouraging the purchase of low-carbon emission vehicles. With the revision, rebates will be increased for very low-carbon emission vehicles, while surcharges will be increased for very high-carbon emission vehicles.

Mr Ricky Tay, director at car dealer RTMT Motor, said traders and car sales agents were under pressure to acquire COEs before the revised scheme starts, as people were rushing to buy cars which qualify for the CEVS rebates.

For this reason, Mr Raymond Tang, honorary secretary of the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association, predicted that COE prices will continue to increase steadily until end-June. However, he said, premiums will hover between S$60,000 and S$65,000 for Category A vehicles during this period.

Referring to the high number of bids in the latest exercise, particularly for Category A cars, Mr Tang said: “There is a worry COE prices will spike ... People are rushing to buy cars and the bids are coming in all at once as the agents are also rushing to clear the backlog (of car orders).”

He added the increase in COE premiums for motorcycles could be attributed to people opting for a cheaper alternative to cars.

“(During the last bidding exercise), motorcycle premiums saw a slight decrease because people thought car prices would drop after Chinese New Year.

“Since then, with another increase in COE (premiums for cars), more people have been opting for motorcycles rather than cars, which also leads to an increase in motorcycle premium prices,” Mr Tang said.

The Land Transport Authority received 4,625 bids for COEs at the end of the open bidding exercise today. Of these, 2,337 were successful.