High motorcycle COE affects everyone in Singapore as the motorcycle is one of the primary transport for couriers.
Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat acknowledges this and to reduce the cost of motorcycles, he increased the tax on motorcycles to try to lower the cost.
Yes, this is true. Increase tax to try to reduce the cost of motorcycles. That was done in 2017 when motorcycle COE went above $7000.
As motorcycles were getting more expensive because the newer ones are equipped with ABS, this means more motorcycles would simply be taxed more.
Today, we are looking at the cost of a CB190R costing more than $14,000 and a Yamaha NMAX costing around $13,000.
Before 2014, similar bikes would barely cost $7,000.
For many people who cannot afford cars in Singapore, a bigger motorcycle is an option for them to travel to Malaysia, but with a high ARF and a high COE, a well equipped touring motorcycle could cost more than a car.
For cars, you still get 50% of the ARF when you scrap the car at 10 years, but you get nothing when you own a motorcycle.
