COE quota allocation to increase by 1.2% for August to October

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has announced that there will be 15,283 Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) made available for the upcoming three-month period from August to October. This represents a 1.2 per cent increase from the preceding three-month period of May to July where 15,104 COEs were made available.

For Category A, 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, there will be 5,864 COEs available for the period, which is a 1.5 per cent increase over the 5,775 COEs allocated for the category in May to July.

Cat B COEs, which are used for ICE cars that exceed 1,600cc in capacity or have more than 130hp, and electric cars with over 110kW, will see their quota increase by a mere 36 COEs, with 3,980 of them available for the upcoming period.

Cat C, which are for goods vehicles and buses, will see the biggest rise in quota for August to October in percentage terms, with an increase of 5.4 per cent to 1,299 COEs available, 67 more than the previous three-month period.

Cat D, which are reserved for motorcycles, will see their quota remain unchanged, at 3,105 COEs available.

Cat E, which is open to all vehicles except motorcycles, is the only category which will see a reduction in its quota for August to October, with a 1.2 per cent decrease to 1,035 COEs available, from 1,048 COEs previously.

The main factor in calculating COE supply is the average monthly number of vehicles that are deregistered over a rolling four-quarter period. However, since last year, the LTA has also been redistributing COEs that have been due to expire in the coming peak supply period, projected to be between now and 2029, in order to reduce the volatility in prices.

The upcoming period will have a total of 2,641 such redistributed COEs, with 1,100 of them going to Cat A, 800 of them going to Cat B, and 741 of them going to Cat C.

Industry observers say that the slight increase in quota is unlikely to make a significant impact on prices.

A senior director at a multi-brand dealership, who declined to be named, noted that demand has remained relatively stable, and car brands are pushing ahead with their new launches for the coming months.

He said, "The cut-and-fill approach (of adding redistributed COEs) has done much to stabilise COE prices, and we expect them to remain at this current level of around $100,000 or so in the car categories for the foreseeable future, barring any unusual circumstances."

benjamin.chia@asiaone.com

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