Scheme to replace old commercial vehicles enhanced from today

From today, owners of commercial vehicles - registered prior to 2001 - will receive larger COE bonuses if they switch to models that comply at least with the cleaner Euro 5 emission standards.

On top of being able to transfer the unused portion of their vehicle's Certificate of Entitlement (COE) to the new one, light vehicles will now get a 20 percent bonus, up from 10 percent originally. On the other hand, heavy vehicles will get a 100 percent bonus, up from just 30 percent. The much larger incentive for heavy vehicles reflects the higher cost.

With the changes, an owner of a big truck could pay just $5,000 for a COE certificate on his new vehicle, instead of $22,500 previously. Yet, as the enhanced incentives are significant, owners who renew will now have to pay a minimum of 10 percent of a vehicle's prevailing quota premium. 

The replacement scheme has also been extended from the end of April 2013 to end of April 2016.