Category A COE premium hits record S$139,001 in latest bidding exercise
The Category A COE premium closed more than S$6,000 higher than that for Category B.
A view of traffic in Singapore. (File photo: Hester Tan)
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SINGAPORE: The Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premium for Category A cars closed at a record high in the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday (Nov 4).
For Category A cars, or those 1,600cc and below with horsepower not exceeding 130bhp, the premium closed at S$139,001 (US$108,686), up 5.3 per cent from S$132,004 in the last exercise.
The premium for larger and more powerful cars in Category B rose 0.3 per cent to S$132,334 from S$131,901.
COEs for commercial vehicles, which include goods vehicles and buses, remained the same at S$92,000 as in the previous bidding exercise.
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The premium for motorcycles closed at S$10,689, down 0.8 per cent from S$10,778 in the last exercise.
Open category COEs, which can be used for any vehicle type but end up being used mainly for large cars, rose 0.2 per cent to S$135,998 from S$135,790.
A total of 4,722 bids were received, with a quota of 3,259 COEs available.
The Land Transport Authority (LTA) said COE prices remained elevated, likely due to strong demand for mass-market electric vehicles that qualify under Category A.
It added that a recent car expo held on Oct 24 and Oct 25 may have contributed to increased demand during this period.
“We urge buyers and dealers to be prudent in bidding for COEs,” an LTA spokesperson said.
LTA said last week that the COE quota for November 2026 to January next year would increase by 1.1 per cent to 19,298, with Category B cars’ quota rising by about 3.3 per cent.
The quota for Category A cars will remain unchanged, while quotas for Category C and Category E will increase by about 2 per cent and about 3.7 per cent, respectively. The motorcycle quota under Category D will fall by about 2 per cent.
PROPOSED CHANGES TO COE SYSTEM
Singapore is considering changes to its COE system after LTA proposed merging categories A and B into a single category for cars, with surcharges and rebates pegged to a vehicle’s open market value.
The suggested changes are due to the narrowing gap between Category A and B COE premiums.
The two categories have traditionally segmented the market for cars into smaller, less powerful models and larger, more powerful ones, based on engine capacity and power.
But advances in vehicle technology, particularly the arrival of electric vehicles, have made these criteria less effective, and manufacturers are increasingly able to adjust vehicle specifications to fit within existing Category A thresholds.
This has increased competition in Category A and narrowed its price gap with Category B. Category A premiums exceeded Category B premiums three times between February and June this year.
Public consultation for the proposed scheme closed on Monday, with the majority of respondents supporting the introduction of rebates and surcharges.
Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said in parliament on Tuesday that LTA was still studying the submissions after the consultation closed on Monday and had not decided on the final changes.
Source: CNA/rl
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