Cat A COE rises to S$92,850, premiums up for most categories

Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premiums across most categories saw an increase in the latest bidding exercise on Feb. 19.

Cat A

Premiums for Category A vehicles or smaller, less powerful cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp, as well as for EVs with up to 110 kilowatts of power, rose to S$92,850.

This was a 9.2 per cent increase, or S$7,850 from the S$85,000 recorded at the last bidding exercise on Feb. 5, 2025.

Cat B

The premium for Category B, for bigger, more powerful cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp, as well as EVs with more than 110 kilowatts of power, went down to S$109,598.

This was a 1.4 per cent decrease, or S$1,506, from the S$111,104 premium set at the last round.

Open Category

The premium for the open category COE price increased to S$110,002, S$2 more than the previous premium.

Open category certificates can be used to register any vehicle type, excluding motorcycles, but they are almost exclusively used for larger, more powerful cars.

The motorcycle COE premium closed at S$8,791, an increase of 6.1 per cent or S$502 from the previous premium of S$8,289.

The commercial vehicle (Category C) premium also climbed to S$65,189, an increase of 4.3 per cent from the previous premium of S$62,506.

New three-year lock-in period

The latest COE results were announced after the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said earlier on Wednesday that it imposed a three-year lock-in period.

The measure applied to all newly registered or converted chauffeured private-hire cars that are owned by businesses, and all such vehicles that are transferred from individuals to businesses.

LTA to bring forward the announcement due to an “unintended release of information” by its vendor NCS, which led to some industry players finding out about the new lock-in period.

The agency had originally intended to announce the new requirement after this latest COE bidding exercise.

The new rule prevents the premature conversion of such vehicles out of the chauffeured private-hire car scheme, which will affect the supply of vehicles available for point-to-point services.

It ensures the stability of private-hire cars as businesses that acquire them do so to lease them to drivers who provide ride-hail services, LTA explained.

Top photo via Unsplash