Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices rose across the board for all categories.

In the latest bidding exercise, the COE price for the open category experienced the biggest jump -- rising by S$7,001 to hit S$83,001.

The next biggest jump was in the big cars category, with premiums going up by S$6,751 to S$81,751.

The premium for small cars went up S$2,602 to S$69,903.

COE prices for commercial vehicles rose S$1,012 to hit S$59,001.

As for motorcycles, the COE price went up by S$11 to reach S$1,712.

From next month, the government will start imposing registration surcharges on cars with high carbon emissions under the new Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS).

Buyers of such cars will have to cough up between S$5,000 and S$20,000.

Motor traders said car buyers who wish to avoid the penalties are driving up COE prices in the latest bidding round.

Neo Tiam Ting, president of the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association, said: "The CEVS come in not only for Category B vehicles but for all vehicles, but Cat B vehicles will be affected more. Those in Cat B, those with high-capacity cars will be affected more, that's why the COE goes up more than A."

Motor traders said higher prices for big cars are also due to the perception that authorities will be fine-tuning the categorisation of COEs to further segregate higher-end models from cheaper ones.

Eddie Loo, managing director of CarTimes Automobile, said: "After the re-categorisation, I think it will put much more pressure on Cat B. So I think for the luxury cars, premiums will still be going up. Before they reach S$100,000, I think it is better to go into the market first."

The public has until July 7 to give their suggestions on ways to refine the COE system.

SOURCE

New rulings are forcing everyone to jump into the market now causing a relatively huge jump in premiums across the board. The Cat B buyers will be experiencing very high premiums until the rulings are finally in place. For now, let the figures rise.