COE for Open Category vehicles jumps to $97,000 in December exercise

Certificate of Entitlement, or COE premiums, for the first bidding exercise in December ended mixed on Wednesday, with the highest increase seen in the Open Category (Cat E) which jumped by $3,010 to close at $97,000.

Also up are rates for goods vehicles and buses. COE premiums for this category (Cat C) went up by $2,800 to $63,035.

Rates for small cars (1,600 cc and below under Cat A) closed at $78,523 - up by $1,232 from the last bidding exercise.

Going down though are rates for big cars (above 1,600 cc under Cat B) which dropped by $2,804 to $90,200.

Premiums for motorcycles closed at $1,612 - down by just $77.

Observers said car dealers could be bidding more aggressively due to a few factors.

Mr Ron Lim, General Manager of Tan Chong Motor Sales, said one of the factors is the rush for year-end registration.

"Basically you're looking at this month's registration to close off the year. Secondly, in anticipation of the expected further cut in quota come February. So everyone is rushing to get the COE and not take the chance to roll over," he said.

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So, it's another new record for Category A COE. With impending quota cuts in February 2013, the worst is still not here yet. Breaching the S$100k mark for cars above 2000cc is only a matter of time. What is more worrying is the COE price for commercial vehicles. Such high prices will inevitably pass on to consumers and overall inflation will climb even higher for years to come.