Latest COE Bidding Results – How Much Does Vehicle Ownership Cost in Singapore?

If you’re a vehicle owner (or aiming to be one), understanding the COE price and bidding exercise is crucial. Find out the latest COE price and bidding results here. 

As much as we have a world-class public transport system in Singapore, there will always be families that require their own means of transport. However, it’s no secret that owning a vehicle in Singapore is expensive; and the main culprit is, of course, the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) system.

While it has been relatively effective in keeping our roads free of congestion (relative to, say, Bangkok), the system is far from perfect. 

Today, high car ownership costs is one of the main drivers of the high cost of living here, with Singaporeans paying as much as 30% of their monthly income on car-related expenses. 

Things have since gotten a little better, well kinda. After breaking new records in the last quarter of 2023, COE prices seem to be mellowing down. But if you’re looking for car ownership costs to come down even more, we say don’t hold your breath. 

Let’s take a closer look at what happened with the latest COE bidding results.

Table of contents

• Latest COE Bidding Results – December 2024 first bidding
• How much does COE cost in Singapore?
• Latest COE prices for motorcycles (Cat D)
• What is the overall COE trend for cars in Singapore?
• What's behind COE prices in December 2024?
• Is now the time to buy a car in Singapore?
• Alternatively, consider renewing your COE
• Road tax implications of renewing your COE

Latest COE Bidding Results – December2024, first bidding

How much does COE cost in Singapore?

The latest round of bidding proved to be bad news for smaller car drivers as well as commercial vehicle owners, with both categories seeing gains in COE prices. 

Cat A COEs spiked by S$4,111 to S$94,000 dashing hopes that prices would fall out of the lofty S$90,000-band. This result helped to keep PQP for the category close to the S$100,000 mark. 

As for Cat C, the only other COE category to see an increase, prices crept up by S$1,289, pushing the cost of COEs here just past S$70,000.

However, the remaining categories – B, D and E – all saw prices fall. Drivers of larger cars enjoyed slight relief with Cat B COEs falling by slightly over S$2,000. However, this wasn’t enough of a drop for prices to break below six figures; Cat B COEs came in at S$103,010 in December’s first bidding.

Meanwhile, Cat E (Open) COEs remained in the six-figure range, with bidding for the category closed at S$104,001. This was despite a drop of S$3,500.

Latest COE prices for motorcycles (Cat D)

Cat D COE prices fell in the first bidding of December 2024. Prices came down by S$791, bringing the category to S$7,878 at the close of bidding.

This marks the fourth time motorcycle COE prices have fallen since 9 Oct 2024. Back then, Cat D COE prices hit a record for the year of S$10,001. 

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What is the overall COE trend for cars in Singapore?

Source

Here’s a chart showing the price trends of COEs in Singapore from Jan 2023 to Dec 2024, for cars and commercial vehicles only. Motorcycles COEs (Cat D) are not included in this chart due to the massive difference in scale. 

First, the good news. We’ve clearly left the record-high prices of November 2023 behind us, with COE prices for Cat A, B, C and E charting a downward trend since then. 

However, we are in no way out of the woods yet. Cat B and Cat E COEs are still over S$100,000, with Cat A COEs just a couple of thousands behind. And judging by how trend lines have been relatively flat in 2024, this suggests a stagnation of COE prices – at an uncomfortably high level. 

In fact, there’s been an uptick in prices in the last quarter of 2024, a worrying development surely. 

What’s behind COE prices in December 2024?

As you’re probably aware, the COE system runs on a bidding system. During a COE exercise, drivers enter the highest amount they are willing to pay. If their bids are too low, they can revise them upwards to stay in the running. 

Ultimately, available COEs for the session are distributed to the highest bidder, going down the line until running out. 

Because the number of COEs is lesser than the number of drivers wanting them, drivers are forced to continually bid up prices. This can be inferred from the perpetual traffic jams during rush hour despite COE prices rising by over 100% over the past five years.

In the latest round of bidding, we see COE prices coming back down for Cat B, D and E, while there were slight increases in Cat A and C. Taken together with the overall trend for 2024, we can infer that LTA’s efforts to bring things under control by increasing the number of COE quotas appears to be having the intended effect.   

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Is now the time to buy a car in Singapore?

With COE prices clearly having been flattened in 2024, drivers waiting on the sidelines may be wondering if it’s time to take the plunge.

Well, the fact is private vehicles still cost a hefty chunk, with COEs for Cats A, B and Open still hovering around the S$100,000-mark.

Commercial and goods vehicles still cost an extra S$70,000 or so just for the right to own and operate them, and even motorcyclists have to foot an additional S$7,000+ to feel the highway breeze. 

And that’s not counting all the other fees and costs of registering a car in Singapore. 

We can complain all we want, but the sobering reality is we may simply never see those halcyon days again where a car doesn’t cost half a BTO flat. 

This is because the authorities are determined to move Singapore towards being a car-lite society for various reasons ranging from environmental to improved urban planning.

Given that we have one of the highest salaries in the region, our undying love for cars, and combined with our lack of land mass, it seems that keeping COE prices high will be the norm for the foreseeable future. 

Of course, this isn’t financial advice by any means. Those who are thinking of going ahead buying a new car now should carefully weigh the financial commitment against the utility or convenience of owning your own vehicle. 

Options such as renewing your COE or purchasing an Off-Peak Car may also be worth considering. 

Also read: 10 Best Car Insurance Plans in Singapore (November 2023)

Alternatively, consider renewing your COE 

Another way to lower your vehicle ownership costs is to renew your COE instead. 

Doing so is much cheaper compared to bidding for a new COE, as you only need to pay the Prevailing Quota Premium (PQP). The PQP is the moving average for the Quota Premium of the past three months. 

Here’s the gist of the COE renewal process. You have two choices:

If your COE is expiring and you simply want to hold out for a while more to see if COE premiums come down, renewing for 5 years is probably the better choice. 

A 10-year COE renewal is likely more suitable for vintage enthusiasts that want to continue maintaining and driving a classic car or motorcycle model. 

For Cat C, commercial vehicles and buses, you are only allowed to renew your COE in five-year blocks. Multiple renewals are allowed, until the end of the vehicle’s statutory lifespan. 

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Road tax implications of renewing your COE

Note that while you can save a significant sum when renewing your COE, your road tax liabilities will increase. See the following table.

Get a comprehensive car insurance coverage for your vehicle

Whether you're buying a new car or renewing your COE, getting a car insurance plan is essential. Find a comprehensive car insurance plan for your vehicle on SingSaver now.

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