COEs: Mainstream car category tops bidding at S$123,010 as demand ‘just too strong’

[SINGAPORE] The Certificates of Entitlement (COE) premium for the mainstream car category spiked in April’s second round of bidding, reaching its highest level in 2026 to date and beating out the large car category.

The Category A premium went up by 4.2 per cent or S$5,010 to S$123,010.

This is the category’s fifth consecutive increase since February 2026, as it inches closer towards its all-time high of S$128,105, set in October 2025’s first round of bidding.

Industry figures cited strong demand for Category A cars, especially EVs, as the reason.

“The demand for Category A is just too strong now,” said the managing director of a mainstream China brand who declined to be named.

“Category A is very crowded (with models) now and the selling price is also very competitive – which drives up the COE premium.”

The Category A COE applies to mainstream cars that have 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 is the second time this year that Category A has eclipsed Category B, after February’s second round of bidding.

Category B was flat, increasing just S$1 to S$121,001.

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This category is for larger, more powerful cars with engines of more than 1,600 cc in capacity or that have more than 97 kW, or for EVs with more than 110 kW.

Category C, for commercial vehicles, registered an increase of 4.4 per cent or S$3,500 to S$83,501.

Category D, used for motorcycles, dipped 7.1 per cent or S$710 to S$9,290.

Category E, the open category which can be used to register any type of motor vehicle except for motorcycles, rose 3.3 per cent or S$4,001 to S$125,002.

Category A: electric driven

Industry figures said the key driving force for Category A continues to be demand for EVs, especially those from China brands.

Nicholas Wong, CEO for authorised Honda dealer Kah Motor, said: “The upward pressure is from demand for EVs, which are all crammed into Category A. The premium has gone up by around S$17,000 since February.”

Industry sources said the major brands in this segment are BYD, Tesla, Omoda, GAC Aion and XPeng, all of which have introduced at least one Category A model in recent months.

This demand has contributed to a backlog of orders, which in turn has driven Category A premiums to new highs.

“In this round of bidding, the Category A quota was 1,265, with 2,410 bids received. So you can see there were 1,145 bids that didn’t secure a COE – around 90 per cent of the quota. That shows the demand and the backlog of orders is very high,” added the managing director.

Ng Choon Wee, the commercial director for Hyundai distributor Komoco Motors, said that bids for the two categories showed that demand for Category A remained strong, while demand for Category B weakened, compared to the preceding round.

“Category A had almost 100 per cent bids in excess of the quota. But Category B really dropped in terms of excess bids, by around one third, and that also signals weakness,” he said.

War, fears

A number of industry observers also said that higher petrol prices due to the Iran conflict could also be helping to prop up demand for Category A EVs.

Automotive consultant Say Kwee Neng said: ‘I think that high petrol prices could push more to make the EV transition, especially since Category B buyers are less sensitive to price increases.”

Three dealers – whose model ranges include non-EV models – told BT that EV-centric brands were using petrol prices as a scare tactic to help convince consumers.

“I don’t blame salesmen for being salesmen. It’s all about fear: higher petrol prices in a war that is not ending, fear of higher COE prices to come and so on. It helps to push buyers to quickly commit,” said a dealer, who wished to remain anonymous.

Looking ahead, the scale of demand from this round seems to indicate that premiums won’t come down much in the next round.

“If the quota is still around 1,200 for Category A, the demand is going to be higher than supply by quite a lot because dealers will continue to collect orders for the next two weeks, even though the showroom traffic may slow down due the high COE,” said the managing director.