CERTIFICATE of entitlement (COE) premiums for cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp rebounded yesterday to close 21.7 per cent higher at $46,970.
The COE for larger cars had fallen to a six-year low of $38,610 at the earlier tender this month, a result which took many motor traders by surprise.
But dealers saw yesterday’s result coming.
They had expected prices to rebound, due to buyers being lured by reduced prices after the last tender.
Nicholas Wong, general manager for Kah Motor, pointed out that there were a lot more bids this time round.
There were 2,898 bids for Category B COEs this time, compared with 1,624 during the last exercise.
“A lot of customers expected the price to continue going up as well, that’s why they came in to buy this time,” said Mr Wong.
Meanwhile, COE prices ended mixed in the other categories. The premium for cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp fell by 7.8 per cent to $43,000.
The cost of the open COE, which can be used for any vehicle type but ends up mostly for bigger cars, rose slightly by 2.3 per cent to $45,009.
Motorcycle premiums ended 2.3 per cent lower at $6,353 while the commercial vehicle COE cost dipped by 0.7 per cent to end at $45,001.
Dealers said the fall in COE premium for smaller cars was likely due to consumers putting in orders for larger cars instead – again owing to the lower prices after the last tender.
But Mr Wong said the lower price for smaller car COE this time around would likely attract some of the car buyers back, which would drive prices up again in the next exercise.
“Those waiting to buy will definitely come back,” he added, noting that it would cost less than $90,000 to own certain car models now.
“The prices will go up and down again, like a roller-coaster.”
Having said that, in the short term, dealers said prices would likely stay stable.
Raymond Tang, first vice-president of the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association, said COE premiums for smaller cars were likely to hover between $40,000 and $50,000, at least until the next COE quota period after April.
In the longer term, COE prices are still slated to trend south as supply is expected to continue growing until late next year.
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