Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums for owing cars in Singapore, both large and small, fell to the lowest point in the past eight years in the latest bidding exercise.
Premiums for big cars which fall in Category B (with an engine capacity of more than 1,600cc or a maximum power output exceeding 97kW) closed at SGD33,900, the lowest since March 2010 and a 5.8 per cent dip from the last bidding exercise earlier this month.
Similarly, premiums for small cars (Category A; up to 1,600cc and 97kW) decreased to SGD34,110 which was the lowest since November 2010.
Premiums for the Open Category, which can be used for any vehicle type except motorcycles, slid 7 per cent to SGD34,400, the lowest since March 2010.
Motorcycle premiums also decreased marginally from the last round, closing SGD112 lower at SGD6,889.
However, COEs for commercial vehicles, which include goods vehicles and buses, rose to SGD32,001 from SGD29,902 in the previous bidding exercise.
A total of 5,734 bids were received, with a quota of 4,178 COEs available.
The sharp downfall in COE premiums is largely being attributed to a change to the Vehicular Emissions Scheme that will take effect from next month under which particulate matter will be included in the list of pollutants measured in the scheme
The Certificate of Entitlement is the quota license received from a successful winning bid in an open bid uniform price auction which grants the legal right of the holder to register, own and use a vehicle in Singapore for a period of 10 years.