Category A COE premium breaks S$100,000 mark for the first time this year

[SINGAPORE] At the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) bidding exercise on Wednesday (May 7), the premium for the mainstream car category topped S$100,000 for the first time this year. 

The premium for Category A climbed 3.5 per cent or S$3,509 to S$103,009 – its highest level in 2025 so far –  from S$99,500 recorded at the previous tender exercise on Apr 23. This category applies to cars with engines of up to 1,600 cubic centimetres (cc) in capacity or with up to 97 kilowatts (kW) of power, or for electric vehicles (EVs) with up to 110 kW of power.

This marks the fourth consecutive increase for the category, which was last at the S$103,000 level in October 2024’s first round of bidding, at S$103,799.

In Category B, the premium was S$119,890, 2.5 per cent or S$2,887 higher than the S$117,003 at the last bidding.

Category B is for cars with engines of more than 1,600 cc in capacity or with more than 97 kW, or for EVs with more than 110 kW.

Unlike Category A, Category B did not exceed the highest level for 2025 to date, which is S$121,501, set in January’s first round of bidding. 

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The price for the open category (Category E) COE was S$118,889 – 0.8 per cent or S$888 more than the S$118,001 in the previous bidding exercise.

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

This exercise is the first of the three-month COE quota period from May to July, when the supply of COEs will increase by 6.4 per cent to 18,232 from 17,133 compared with the period from February to April. Category A has increased by 10 per cent to 7,511, while Category B will grow by 5 per cent to 4,689 pieces.

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COE quota rises 6.4% to 18,232 for May to July

The premiums for the other two categories were down.

At S$62,590, the commercial vehicle (Category C) COE premium was 3.7 per cent or S$2,411 lower than the previous price of S$65,001.

The motorcycle (Category D) COE premium came in at S$8,709 – down 6.4 per cent or S$600 from S$9,309. 

Unexpected jolt

Dealers The Business Times spoke to said that they expected passenger car premiums to rise in the wake of The Car Expo, an auto show that was held from May 3 to 4 at Singapore Expo. 

But it may not have been just sales activity that caused an increase in Category A, but increased competition within the segment.

“I felt the crowd was thinner compared to the last iteration of the show. Looking at the bidding activity, it shows that it wasn’t a glut of sales. Dealers are not rushing to clear orders,” said automotive consultant Vincent Ng

Ng Choon Wee, commercial director of authorised Hyundai distributor Komoco Motors, echoed that sentiment, saying that the show crowd was “below expectations” and bidding volumes were not out of the ordinary.

Bidding activity is typically higher after major car shows, as dealers look to secure COEs to fulfil orders. This round, 2,240 bids were received for Category A, which is the highest number aside from February’s second round of bidding, but bids received have consistently topped 2,100 in the rounds since April.

Industry observers said that while bidding numbers did not spike, there is stronger competition for Category A COEs that shows in the willingness to bid higher – past the S$100,000 mark.

That is boosted by an increasing number of electric vehicles (EVs) in the category, as EVs receive up to S$40,000 of incentives compared to other types of car.

“Everyone is coming to fight in Category A, because that is where the numbers can be made. Some dealers are willing to bid aggressively to get a healthy population for visibility,” said Edward Tan, executive director of Hong Seh Group, the authorised distributor for Seres.

At least three Category A Evs have launched in Singapore since February, including the Tesla Model Y, MG S5 and GAC Aion V.

At the show, Chinese brand Seres debuted a Category A version of its Seres 3 sport utility vehicle, one of the least expensive in the segment, costing less than S$150,000 with COE.