Most COE category premiums down; mainstream car category drops 5.4% to S$96,999
Motorcycle category is sole riser in this round, up 3.5%
[SINGAPORE] All premiums dipped in the first round of Certificate of Entitlement (COE) bidding in June, except for the motorcycle category.
The mainstream car category posted the biggest reduction, dropping 5.4 per cent or S$5,502 to end at S$96,999.
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.
It is the category’s second-biggest decline in price in 2025, following the result of February’s second round of bidding, where it decreased 9 per cent, or S$8,601, to S$85,000.
The large-car category B fell 3.4 per cent or S$3,988 to S$113,000.
Category B is for larger, more powerful cars with engines of more than 1,600 cc in capacity or have more than 97 kW, or for EVs with more than 110 kW of power.
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It was matched closely by Category E, the open category, which can be used to register any type of motor vehicle except for motorcycles. Category E was down 3.5 per cent or S$4,110 at S$113,900.
The price for the commercial-vehicle category, C, ticked downward 1.9 per cent or S$1,189 to S$62,000.
The motorcycle segment, Category D, was the only COE premium to increase. It went up 3.4 per cent or S$293 to S$9,000.
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Car dealers The Business Times spoke to said that the drop in premium for Category A was expected, as high prices in recent months meant that a correction was due.
Anthony Teo, managing director of BYD distributor and dealer Vantage Automotive, noted: “I think after (May’s second round of bidding), where there was a slight drop, people decided to wait and see if it would drop further for this round.”
In May’s first round of bidding, the category premium went to S$102,501 from S$103,009, its first dip in months.
“A drop of around 5 per cent is more than we expected. I think everyone is waiting for the market to correct further, as in the past weeks it was near record levels. Category A is for normal and affordable cars, so there is always (the) psychological barrier of S$100,000 being (considered) a very high level. Anything more than that is hard for buyers to bear,” added Teo.
The Category A premium reached a high for the year in April’s second round of bidding, at S$103,009, nearing its all-time record of S$106,000 set in October 2023.
Dealers also reported a slowdown in showroom activity and sales, in the wake of a major car show and as Singaporean consumers go on holiday.
Chong Kah Wei, managing director of Mazda for Eurokars Group, said: “We expected the drop because the orders collected in the past two weeks were slow.”
Corinne Chua, managing director of Volvo at Wearnes Automotive, noted that showroom traffic has slowed by around one-fifth in the past weeks.
She added that buying activity has lessened after The Car Expo, a major auto show held in the first week of May, and with the start of the June school holidays.
“A lot of people who wanted to buy a car, did so in early May. Sales (at the show) were quite good. Right now, they are waiting for deliveries and a COE to be secured and the car to be delivered,” she said.
Dealers were mixed on whether the dip in COE premiums would spur buying activity that may push prices back up in the next round.
“The drop in prices means dealers will come out with promotions and customers will come in (to showrooms) again. When COE prices drop, customers will start to come back; it’s a cycle,” noted Teo.
Chua said: “I don’t think there will be sudden improvement in sales, or a case of consumers rushing back to showrooms. That would probably only happen with a larger drop of S$8,000 to S$10,000.”
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