SG: COE quotas down

The LTA has decided to announce the COE quotas once every three months as compared to the previous bi-annual review. They hope that this can better respond to the market demands. LTA have announced that from February to April this year, there will be 717 COEs for cars in CAT A (cars up to 1600cc and 130bhp), less than the 728 of yesteryears. CAT B is down too; it will drop from 746 to the current 701. In the Open CAT, COEs have dropped from 522 to 382 monthly. COEs for motorcycles have dropped too, from 961 to 719. It isn’t all gloom though. For those interested in acquiring a commercial vehicle, there is good news, for there will be an increase in the quota, from 514 previously to 524. All the changes are made to stabilise the market, according to LTA, with hope that the market will hold till April. They have not announced plans beyond April though, but even if they don’t, we all know what will happen - less COEs will eventually led to higher costs as bidders try to outdo one another to keep their beloved cars on the road.Pictures used for illustration purposes only.