Cat A COE price climbs 3.9% to $109,501 after falls in last four rounds; Cat B dips 7.1% to $115,102

SINGAPORE – The certificate of entitlement (COE) price climbed 3.9 per cent to $109,501 for smaller cars at the last tender exercise of the year, which closed on Dec 17.

The price of a Category A certificate, meant for smaller and less powerful cars and electric vehicles (EVs), was 3.9 per cent higher than the $105,413 at the previous exercise. The rise ends the streak of four consecutive rounds where the Category A COE premium dipped since it hit the record of $128,105 at the first tender exercise in October.

At $115,102, the premium for a Category B COE, meant for larger and more powerful cars and EVs, was 7.1 per cent lower than the $123,900 at the previous exercise on Dec 3.

A COE is needed to register a vehicle in Singapore, and the cost of securing a certificate is usually included in the selling price. Two tender exercises are held every month.

The Open category (Category E) premium went down by 3.3 per cent from $123,000 to $119,000. This is the lowest price since the first tender exercise in July, when the premium was $118,500. Although Open category certificates can be used to register any vehicle type except motorcycles, they are used mostly for bigger cars.

As such certificates are transferrable, they give motor dealers the flexibility to register cars without having to wait for the next tender exercise.

The price of commercial vehicle (Category C) COEs ended at $77,003 – 0.7 per cent higher than the $76,501 two weeks ago.

The motorcycle COE premium ended lower by 2.5 per cent at $8,081 from the $8,289 set earlier.

Mr Say Kwee Neng, an automotive industry consultant, said there has been a surge of promotions for Category A COE cars before the end of the year and this has led to higher sales and demand for COEs.

Another possible driver of the latest rise in COE premium for Category A vehicles is the

imminent cut in EV rebates

from Jan 1, 2026, said Mr Ron Lim, head of sales and marketing at Nissan agent Tan Chong Motor.

These rebates, given upfront to offset car prices, will be cut by up to $10,000. Mass-market, lower-priced EVs will be proportionately more affected by these changes, relative to larger, more expensive models, said Mr Lim.

He added that the move could also result in higher selling prices or dealers accepting smaller profit margins.

Combined EV rebates in 2025 consisted of $15,000 from the EV Early Adoption Incentive and $25,000 from the Vehicular Emissions Scheme.

Mr Lim said some dealers may also have rushed to secure Category A COEs to pre-register cars before finding buyers, in a bid to meet year-end sales targets.

Dealers with orders in hand would also be rushing to get the COEs needed to register those cars within 2025, noted Mr Nicholas Wong, chief executive of Honda agent Kah Motor.

Mr Ng Choon Wee, commercial director of Komoco Motors, the distributor of Hyundai, added that the segment of cars that qualify for Category A COEs is overcrowded. As a result, there is fierce competition among dealers to secure COEs for them, he said.

The next COE tender exercise closes on Jan 7, 2026.

This three-week gap – longer than the usual two-week interval between tender exercises – will give dealers more time to collect orders and drive up the price of COEs.

But Komoco Motors’ Mr Ng said COE premiums may hold steady or even dip at the end of the next tender exercise.

This is because buyers may wait for offers from the Singapore Motorshow – to be held from Jan 8 to 11 – before committing, he said.