COE premiums in Category A and B reach record highs

SINGAPORE: Certificate of Entitlement COE premiums closed mostly higher in the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday, with Category A and B premiums reaching new record highs.

Premiums for Category A cars or those 1,600 cc and below with horsepower not exceeding 130 bhp, rose from S $88,000 to S $93,503, a record high, beating the previous mark of S $92,100 set in January 2013.

The premiums for larger and more powerful cars in Category B rose to a record high of S $116,201 from S $115,501. In November last year, the previous milestone was S $115,388.

The open category of COEs, which can be used for any vehicle type but end up mainly for large cars, went up to S $116,020 from S $116,000 last month.

COEs for commercial vehicles, which include goods and buses, fell to S $85,389 from S $91,101 in the previous bidding exercise.

Motorcycle premiums fell to S $12,001, down from S $12,390 in the last exercise.

A total of 2,426 bids were received, with a quota of 1,648 COEs available.

A new additional registration fee ARF structure and preferential ARF cap took effect last month, leading to owners of higher-end cars forking out more for their vehicles.