COE prices fall across the board except for motorcycles; Cat A records biggest drop

SINGAPORE – Certificate of entitlement (COE) premiums fell for all categories except motorcycles at the latest tender on June 4.

The largest drop was in Category A, meant for smaller and less powerful cars and electric vehicles (EVs). At $96,999, the premium was 5.4 per cent lower than the $102,501 at the previous exercise.

For Category B, meant for larger and more powerful cars and EVs, the premium was $113,000, down 3.4 per cent from $116,988 recorded at the last tender on May 21.

This is the second consecutive tender exercise where COE prices for cars have fallen, although premiums are still higher than a year ago.

At the first of two tender exercises in June 2024, the Category A price was $88,200, while Category B was $100,607.

The price of an Open category (Category E) certificate was $113,900, 3.5 per cent lower than the $118,010 at the last exercise.

Although Open category COEs can be used to register any vehicle type other than motorcycles, they are almost always used for bigger and more powerful cars.

At $62,000, the commercial vehicle (Category C) COE premium was 1.9 per cent lower than the previous price of $63,189.

The motorcycle (Category D) COE premium bucked the trend, climbing 3.4 per cent to $9,000, from $8,707.

COEs give people the right to own and use a vehicle in Singapore, and these certificates are usually included in the price of the vehicle.

Overall, 4,045 bids were received – 8.7 per cent fewer than two weeks ago. This is a sign of weaker demand due to poorer vehicle sales than before.

Motor dealers like Ms Corinne Chua, managing director of Volvo at Wearnes Automotive, estimated that showroom traffic dipped around 20 per cent compared with two weeks ago.

Buying interest at motor dealers’ roadshows at shopping malls was also not as strong as previously, according to the sales manager of a mass-market car brand who did not want to be named.

Mr Ng Choon Wee, commercial director of Komoco Motors, which distributes Hyundai, said customers stayed away because the premiums were still very high after the previous tender exercise, at $102,501 for Category A and $116,988 for Category B.

He said consumers are also waiting for more COEs to be released for tender in the coming months.

There are more car COEs available now than in 2024.

At 2,070 certificates, the latest tender had 25.7 per cent more COEs available than in June 2024.

Mr Jason Lim, managing director of Eurokars Auto BMW, attributed the higher premium – despite the higher COE supply – to the “China EV effect”, referring to the influx of new Chinese brands selling EVs competing for market dominance and chasing up COE premiums.

While motor dealers like Mr Nicholas Wong, chief executive of Honda agent Kah Motor, expect premiums to rebound because of renewed buying interest, others like Ms Chua from Wearnes believe that COE premiums will stay at current levels.

This is because many are travelling during this period and are not likely to be in a hurry to buy a new car.

Following the latest COE tender, motor dealers are adjusting prices down to reflect the lower COE prices. For instance, the BMW 216 Gran Coupe, which is a Category A compact family car, is priced at $230,888 with COE, down from $236,888 with COE two weeks ago.