With the exception of commercial vehicles, certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums for all other categories ended lower at the latest tender yesterday.
The COE price for cars up to 1600cc and 130bhp posted the sharpest fall of 9 percent to settle at a 13-month low of $46,489.
These cars are the mainstay of private-hire players such as Uber and Grab, which are seen to be staying away from bidding in the face of an oversupply of vehicles, and an anticipated exodus of drivers, once stricter rules take effect in July.
The COE premium for cars above 1600cc or 130bhp slipped by 4.4 percent to hit a three-month low of $53,001.
The price of the Open COE, which can be used for any vehicle type but mostly ends up being used for bigger cars, fell by 5.5 percent to finish at $52,000, also the lowest in three months.
The softer premiums reflect lower demand, despite talk of brisk sales at the Cars@Expo retail bazaar two weeks ago.
Mr Neo Nam Heng, chairman of diversified motor group Prime, said: “The private-hire market has started to slow down with new rules (in July), which I hear will be applied quite strictly.”
The COE price for smaller cars was hovering around $10,000 right up to the final minutes of the tender exercise yesterday. “It was only in the last three minutes that it jumped,” Mr Neo noted. “There’s a slowdown, that’s for sure.”
Meanwhile, the COE premium for commercial vehicles shot up by 17.6 percent to hit $30,600, dashing industry hopes that it would plummet to $15,000.
Mr Neo said that while supply had surged, demand for commercial vehicles has also soared. Buyers and sellers are also rushing to beat the January 2018 implementation of the Euro 6 emission standard for diesel, contributing to the premium hike.
Motorbike premiums fell by 3.2 percent to close at a four-month low of $6,101.
Related story: COE results mixed after first round of bidding in May 2017
Related story: Commercial vehicle COE prices drop by over $19k
