Despite the drive to reduce pollution via stricter emissions standards, more than 26,000 old, diesel-run commercial vehicles that would otherwise have been scrapped will continue to ply Singapore's roads for another five to 10 years.

With the haste in which the Euro IV emission standard was implemented last October, auto distributors were hard-pressed to bring in the range of commercial vehicles to fill local demand.

All new diesel vehicles sold here had to comply by the new standard, which reduces hazardous fine soot emissions by up to 70 per cent.

The result was a meager selection of Euro-IV compliant vehicles that prompted existing vehicle owners to hold on to their aging vans, trucks, and lorries, resulting in a crash in certificate of entitlement (COE) prices to the $1 nominal value that persisted for six consecutive tenders between December and March.

The low COE prices have also drastically pushed down the renewal fee as it is based on a three-month average of COE premiums. This low renewal fee further encouraged owners to simply opt to renew the COEs for as low as $43.

A total of 21,965 COEs were renewed in March alone, marking a 100-fold increase over the average renewal rates each month, according to a report in The Straits Times today.

But it is not all smooth sailing for those with aging diesel vehicles, as the more stringent vehicle testing regime requires that emissions be measured under real driving conditions, compared to previously where they were taken when the vehicles were parked in neutral gear.