SG: More problems on the EWL

The COE system has been put in place to ensure older, less eco-friendly vehicles are taken off the road as soon as they reach a decade old. However, with the relatively recent regulations about the amount of cash you can loan from a bank when you purchase a car driving sales of new cars down, the age of our overall car population has increased. Cars aged between 8-10 years old amounted to over 105,000, where as more than 50% of our 621,000 cars on the road are over 6 years old. With more holding on to their cars for longer, there will be less COEs for potential buyers to bid on, thus, increasing the prices of the COE as bidders have to fork out more to get one. Industrial players hope that the COE Supply bloom from 2015-2017 will aid in reducing the cost of a COE. The newer regulations mean that more older modern classics will be kept on the road! Great news for the car enthusiast, but not so good news for those retailing new cars.Pictures used for illustration purposes only.

The recent tweaks to the COE system has worked! More economy cars have been sold than before the tweaks were implemented. Cars with OMVs of less than $15,000 have risen from 8% of the market to a whopping 25% of all Category A registrations! Cars with OMV at or below $20 grand increased by 26% to occupy more than 50% of the market. The tweaks also lowered the median OMV of the cars registered- statistics in February show a median of $18,745, 28% lower than the $26,147 of the last half a year. The changes in the regulation was meant to reduce the amount of premium brands occupying Category A, although some believe the change actually made no difference, for the premiums climbed $5000 to $77,000.Pictures used for illustration purposes only.

With lowered costs and a wider range of cameras available, it is no wonder that the use of in-car cameras have been growing. With such a growth in the usage of such cameras, comes an increase in the amount of footage submitted as evidence of various traffic violations. The authorities received over 1000 clips in 2013, and they aren’t the only ones welcoming the trend; insurance firms are as well. This videographic evidence creates less disputes, aid in negotiation and settlement of accident liability. The increase isn’t without rhyme or reason. Sure, the lowered cost may be a factor, but a little counter through the statistics would show that there had been a 10.6% increase in the amount of traffic offences (367,496 in 2013), which makes perfect sense for a motorist to invest in a device that allows them to prove their innocence in court should the circumstances require it. Pictures used for illustration purposes only.