SINGAPORE - The record certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums have not deterred car shoppers from looking for good deals at The Car Expo being held this weekend at Singapore Expo.
The Land Transport Authority announced on Friday that more COEs will be available for tender from November. Motor dealers at the event said that they are sceptical that the increase is sufficient to bring the COE premium down in the immediate term.
But by noon on Saturday, Lexus had sold an RZ, the brand’s fully electric crossover – and likely the most expensive new car at the event, listed at $431,800 after COE.
The spokesman for Borneo Motors, Lexus’ agent, said that as much as it is about selling cars, “such events are also opportunities for us to talk about technologies like electrification and hybrid”.
He noted that consumers do not always know the difference between terms like “self-charging hybrid” – which has an electric motor that is able to support the engine to move the vehicle – and “mild hybrid” – which only recovers energy when the car is slowing down but does not help to propel the vehicle.
Ms Koong Wai Yoke, 54, bought a Mercedes-Benz GLB180, which has a listed price of $248,888 with COE at the show, to replace her Audi Q2. The usual price is $269,888 with COE.
The accountant found that with the rising COE premium, the value of her existing car was nearly what she had paid five years ago, reducing her outlay for the new car. She will be collecting her new car within the next two weeks.
Freelance beautician, Madam Cheow Oilia, 57, placed a $1,000 deposit for a new Peugeot 5008, a seven-seat sport utility vehicle, which has a listed price of $197,000 with COE at the event, down from $202,888.
She said: “The COE price is beyond my control. I came to the event to look for something that is suitable for my needs and within my budget.”
Meanwhile, a managing director of a mass-market car brand said that at such an event, where rival brands are located so near to one another and the prices are widely advertised, sales staff cannot afford to hold back discounts for later, as the customer can easily walk over to the next booth to get a better deal.
Some of the deals at the event include the Citroen C4 which is priced at $143,999 including COE.
This seems like a bargain when the COE value would already be more than $100,000 after the latest tender in October. Other mass-market models, like the Kia Cerato and Mazda 3 Sedan, are priced similarly.
And after a slow start to the event on Saturday, the crowd picked up as the day progressed. By afternoon, the queue of cars trying to get into the Singapore Expo carpark stretched almost to the junction of Upper Changi Road East and Expo Drive.
The event, organised by SPH Media, which publishes The Straits Times, is open from 10am to 8pm on Sunday.
