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KNN..cheebye taxi companies.bid high high..and then up the rent...hike taxi fare...in the end commuters have to pay....KNNBPCB!!!
:oIo:
Small car COE premium could have been $1 if not for taxis
(SINGAPORE) The COE premium for small cars fell in yesterday's bidding exercise - the first of the new year - and could have been as low as $1 if not for the strong participation by some taxi companies, say some distributors.
A certificate of entitlement in Category A - for cars below 1,600 cc - shed $7,240 to $38,889.
'The taxi companies secured at least 500 COEs,' said a senior executive of a mid-sized dealership. 'Otherwise, Cat A might have only cost $1.'
Taxi operators are aggressively expanding their fleet size to cater to a strengthening economy. At the same time, Cat A, which is considered the 'bread-and-butter' category, has been hit by rising premiums and many volume distributors are reporting stalling sales.
'The whole Cat A market was quiet over the last two weeks,' said the senior executive. 'Even the showroom of the top Cat A brand was quiet because of what I call a combination of premium shock and holiday mood.'
The lack of interest was reflected in yesterday's tender, with Cat A only showing signs of bidding activity in the last 10 minutes.
But it was a different story with Cat B and Cat E. Cat B - for cars above 1,600 cc - was the first to register any action exactly half an hour before the tender's close at 4pm. It crossed the $50,000 level barely 10 minutes later.
By then, Cat E - the open category - had already raced ahead to $65,000.
Two weeks ago, Cat B had hit a 15-year-high of $72,001. Yesterday, it slipped $3,001 to $69,000, while Cat E - the open category - eased $313 to $75,789.
Meanwhile, Cat C - for goods vehicles - rose $1,610 to $35,111, while Cat D - for motorcycles - was down $48 to $1,503.
'The drop in Cat B was expected because industry sales have been low,' said one sales manager. 'But it looks like the $70,000 COE is here to stay.'
He explained that this is the threshold 'everyone is pricing their cars at'.
'The luxury market will probably settle at this level because Cat B is dominated by the 3 big German makes (Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz) and their customers can afford to pay this amount,' he said.
As for next month's expected quota cut, he said he did not see its impact during the tender.
'One sign would be Cat E (because it is transferrable). But there didn't seem to be a huge rush, so it looks like there is no panic for now,' he said.

Small car COE premium could have been $1 if not for taxis

(SINGAPORE) The COE premium for small cars fell in yesterday's bidding exercise - the first of the new year - and could have been as low as $1 if not for the strong participation by some taxi companies, say some distributors.
A certificate of entitlement in Category A - for cars below 1,600 cc - shed $7,240 to $38,889.
'The taxi companies secured at least 500 COEs,' said a senior executive of a mid-sized dealership. 'Otherwise, Cat A might have only cost $1.'
Taxi operators are aggressively expanding their fleet size to cater to a strengthening economy. At the same time, Cat A, which is considered the 'bread-and-butter' category, has been hit by rising premiums and many volume distributors are reporting stalling sales.
'The whole Cat A market was quiet over the last two weeks,' said the senior executive. 'Even the showroom of the top Cat A brand was quiet because of what I call a combination of premium shock and holiday mood.'
The lack of interest was reflected in yesterday's tender, with Cat A only showing signs of bidding activity in the last 10 minutes.
But it was a different story with Cat B and Cat E. Cat B - for cars above 1,600 cc - was the first to register any action exactly half an hour before the tender's close at 4pm. It crossed the $50,000 level barely 10 minutes later.
By then, Cat E - the open category - had already raced ahead to $65,000.
Two weeks ago, Cat B had hit a 15-year-high of $72,001. Yesterday, it slipped $3,001 to $69,000, while Cat E - the open category - eased $313 to $75,789.
Meanwhile, Cat C - for goods vehicles - rose $1,610 to $35,111, while Cat D - for motorcycles - was down $48 to $1,503.
'The drop in Cat B was expected because industry sales have been low,' said one sales manager. 'But it looks like the $70,000 COE is here to stay.'
He explained that this is the threshold 'everyone is pricing their cars at'.
'The luxury market will probably settle at this level because Cat B is dominated by the 3 big German makes (Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz) and their customers can afford to pay this amount,' he said.
As for next month's expected quota cut, he said he did not see its impact during the tender.
'One sign would be Cat E (because it is transferrable). But there didn't seem to be a huge rush, so it looks like there is no panic for now,' he said.