In the first Certificate of Entitlement (COE) bidding exercise for August 2024, premiums went up across all categories, with the biggest rise coming in Category B.

Cat A COEs, which are used for cars with internal combustion engines (ICEs) of up to 1,600cc in capacity and have a power output of less than 130hp, as well as electric cars with a power output of up to 110kW, went up by $2,390 to end the bidding exercise at $94,289.

Cat B COEs, which are used for cars with ICEs  that exceed 1,600cc in capacity or have more than 130hp, and electric cars with a power output of more than 110kW, saw the largest increase of all, with premiums going up by $6,101 to end at $106,101.

Cat C, which are for goods vehicles and buses, saw prices going up by $499 to end the bidding exercise at $71,100.

Cat D, which are reserved for motorcycles, went up by $512 to close at $9,601.

Finally, Cat E, which is open to all vehicles except motorcycles, saw premiums go up by $4,898 to finish the exercise at $105,239.

Sabrina Sng, a managing director who oversees insurance and car brands Lotus and Polestar at dealership group Wearnes Automotive, attributed the rise in premiums to the three-week break between the last COE bidding and the latest one, which gave dealers more time to collect orders from buyers.

However, she also said the sharp increase was "somewhat unexpected".

"The market has been quite slow for a long time, and COE prices have been relatively flat for many rounds, even after earlier periods where we had three-week breaks in between COE biddings," she explained.

She noted though that there have been many new car launches of late, with a number of them being premium electric vehicles (EVs). "That certainly explains the big rise in Cat B," she added.

Among the new models to be introduced to Singapore lately include Chinese brands Zeekr and Xpeng, which launched their X and G6 electric SUVs respectively. A Zeekr representative, who declined to be named, said there have been 'a lot' of orders for their cars following their launch event last week, without disclosing specific figures. The event itself saw about 200 prospective customers in attendance, with a number of them likely to have placed orders for the car after the event.

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Here's a summary of the first COE bidding exercise for August 2024:

*PQP, or Prevailing Quota Premium, is the moving average of COE prices in the last three months, and denotes the amount payable in order to renew a car's COE at the end of its tenure.

benjamin.chia@asiaone.com

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