COE prices rise for all categories except bigger, more powerful cars

Category of smaller, less powerful cars posts biggest increase of 8.1% to end at 83,000

- Lee Nian Tjoe

Certificate of entitlement (COE) prices rose across the board on March 6, except in the category for bigger, more powerful cars, which recorded a drop of $990.

The COE category for smaller, less powerful cars registered the biggest increase of 8.1 per cent to end at $83,000, from the $76,801 posted two weeks ago.

For bigger, more powerful cars, the COE premium was $96,010, down 1 per cent from $97,000.

The premium for Open category COES, which can be used for any vehicle type other than motorcycles but end up almost exclusively for bigger, more powerful cars, closed at $95,010, up 1.1 per cent from $94,006.

As such COEs are transferrable and can be held for three months before being used to register vehicles, the price is viewed as a reflection of the industry's forecast of market demand.

Motor dealers said the slight increase of $1,004 suggests that the trade is not expecting COE prices to surge significantly in the immediate term.