SINGAPORE: Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums for cars hit yet another high on Wednesday (Sep 20), with prices for larger vehicles in Category B and Open Category topping S$140,000 for the first time. 

For Category A cars, or those 1,600cc and below with horsepower not exceeding 130bhp, premiums closed at S$105,000 (US$76,927), a new record. This is up from the S$101,000 in the last tender and the previous record of S$103,721 in April this year. 

Premiums for larger and more powerful cars in Category B rose to S$140,889, a 4.4 per cent increase compared with S$134,889 in the last tender. 

Open Category COEs, which can be used for any vehicle type but end up being used mainly for large cars, rose to S$144,640, up 5.6 per cent from the figure of S$137,000 in the last round.

This marks the fifth consecutive price increase in this category.

COEs for commercial vehicles, which include goods vehicles and buses, rose to S$83,801 from S$82,889 in the previous bidding exercise.

Motorcycle premiums bucked the trend, closing at S$10,700, down from S$10,901 in the last exercise.

A total of 2,673 bids were received, with a quota of 1,916 COEs available.