COEs down in all but one category

Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums dropped for all categories except for motorcycles at the end of the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday.

Prices for small cars in category A fell S$3,901 to S$87,109.

Category B prices for big cars were lower by S$2,600 at S$92,901.

In the goods vehicles and buses category, the premium fell S$2,062 to S$54,989.

The open category premiums fell S$2,999 to S$94,890.

The only category where premiums rose was the motorcycle category, which went up by a dollar to S$1,782.

Industry players attributed the dips to a couple of reasons – the recent parliamentary debates about COE premiums and the Chinese New Year period.

Following the recent parliamentary debates about COE premiums, industry players said car buyers are adopting a wait-and-see approach to see if there will be any measures implemented to alleviate the high prices.

And with Chinese New Year just around the corner, Mr Chin Kee Min, senior manager at KIA Motors, said those who wanted to buy a car before the new festive period would most likely have done so.

"People are also cautious about the economic outlook and are more cautious about how they spend their money," Mr Chin added.

Mr Chin said he does not foresee this downward trend will continue, given the small quota supply.

SOURCE

Quite a surprise? Not really. Even with the reduction in quota, the drop in COE should be attributed to the lack of buyers during the CNY period. The true reflection will surface from March onwards. The price shock will come later.