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SINGAPORE : COE prices for cars were higher in the latest bidding exercise which ended on Thursday, but were lower for commercial vehicles.
COE premiums for cars 1,600cc and below rose S$7,719 to S$7,721. It had fallen to a historic low of S$2 in the previous bidding exercise, and that drew crowds to car showrooms over the last two weeks.
Most dealers said during the last 10 days of November, sales were back to pre-recession levels three months ago. And this demand has inevitably pushed up the COE prices for most categories of vehicles in this latest bidding exercise.
For big cars of more than 1,600cc, COEs went up S$1,612 to S$6,501.
The COE price for the Open Category, where the certificates are usually used to buy cars, rose S$700 to S$7,589.
Motorcycle COE rose S$90 to S$1,102.
The Goods Vehicles and Bus Category registered a fall, down S$977 to S$5,212.
Meanwhile, car dealers are not expecting sales to back down, because of the upcoming Christmas and New Year festivities. They said now is the time, despite the economic downturn.
In 1998, we were also undergoing an economic recession. But COEs in 1998 was hovering around S$32,000 to S$34,000 levels. But today, it is less than one-third of that. It is still a good time to buy,” said Vincent Ng, a product manager with Honda.
With higher demand, dealers said the COE price for small cars is expected to remain in the S$6,000 to S$8,000 range for the next few biddings. - CNA /ls
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