May 2024 COE Results 1st Bidding: After a three-week slumber, the COE dragon was still sleepy and only moved up slightly in Categories B, C and E

In the first COE bidding exercise of May 2024, Cat A closed at $93,604; Cat B closed at $105,002; Cat C closed at $70,001; Cat D closed at $9,503; while Cat E closed at $104,689.

Cat A (car up to 1600cc & 130bhp, and EV with up to 110kW) received 1,632 bids for 968 COEs and its premium dipped by just $406. Category A COE closed at $93,604.

Cat B (car above 1600cc or 130bhp, and EV with more than 110kW) received 1,237 bids for 666 COEs and its premium climbed by $3,001. Category B COE closed at $105,002.

Cat C (goods vehicle and bus) received 350 bids for 206 COEs and its premium increased by $1,499. Category C COE closed at $70,001.

Cat D (motorcycle) received 630 bids for 528 COEs and its premium decreased by $487. Category D COE closed at $9,503.

Lastly, Cat E (all vehicles except motorcycle) received 317 bids for 177 COEs and climbed by $1,440. Category E COE closed at $104,689.

Jason Lim, managing director of BMW authorised agent Eurokars Auto, told Motorist: “Category A can be considered quite stable. Category B is the surprising one. I heard there were clearance sales of outgoing Cat B models in the market. As for the Open Category, it is just following Cat B, as usual. Traditionally, a three-week gap between COE biddings added pressure to the COE premiums, but I wonder why only in Cat B this time.”

Nicholas Wong, chief executive officer of Honda authorised agent Kah Motor, told Motorist: “Cat A did not drop much because the orders from The Car Expo were not cleared yet, the increase in quota for this quarter is only around 3 percent, and Cat A EV sellers continued to do well by taking advantage of the special condition of ‘below 110kW’. Cat B sales are normally quite stable, so the longer three-week booking period definitely garnered more competition in the category.”

Another senior executive at a major dealership in the Alexandra Road motor belt told Motorist: “The price gap between Categories A and B was just around $8k, so the market orders were mostly for Cat B cars. There were probably some leftover orders from The Car Expo, while the increment from the new COE quota for May to July was not significant enough to create any huge peak-and-trough movement in COE prices.”

Here is a summary of the first COE bidding exercise for May 2024: