January 2026 COE Results: Car Premiums Increase in Second Bidding

In the second COE bidding exercise of January 2026, Cat A closed at $109,501; Cat B closed at $121,634; Cat C closed at $75,202; Cat D closed at $8,860; while Cat E closed at $120,891. Cat A (car up to 1600cc & 130bhp, and EV with up to 110kW) received 2,303 bids for 1,301 COEs and its premium climbed by $7,492. Category A COE closed at $109,501. Cat B (car above 1600cc or 130bhp, and EV with more than 110kW) received 1,207 bids for 803 COEs and its premium climbed by $2,534. Category B COE closed at $121,634. Cat C (goods vehicle and bus) received 434 bids for 283 COEs and its premium decreased by $301. Category C COE closed at $75,202. Cat D (motorcycle) received 609 bids for 538 COEs and its premium increased by $171. Category D COE closed at $8,860. Lastly, Cat E (all vehicles except motorcycle) received 426 bids for 299 COEs and dipped by $1,109. Category E COE closed at $120,891. Motorist checked in with several senior executives at the Leng Kee/Alexandra motor belt to get their thoughts on today’s COE prices and the upcoming Chinese New Year rounds of COE bidding in February. Anthony Teo, the Vantage Automotive managing director who sells BYD and DENZA in Singapore, said: “We’ll have to see if there’s any announcement made on the new quota size. Barring that, I believe there’ll be a boost from all the showrooms to entice customers to buy a car and register it before CNY. The COE price will probably be quite stable or maybe drop a bit.” Nicholas Wong, the Kah Motor chief executive handling Honda, told us: “Today’s premium was expected to go up, due to the recently concluded motorshow. Cat A rebounded to the Dec 17 premium, even though the bids increased by more than 600. Dealers seem to be exercising caution with their expectation of higher quota announcement from LTA.” Jason Lim, the Eurokars managing director who oversees the company’s BMW and MINI dealerships, said: “Singapore Motorshow this year saw the most participants, 37, and BMW Eurokars enjoyed strong sales there. The market expected COE premiums to go up for this tender.” Vincent Ng, an automotive consultant to Vincar Group which distributes GAC, Aion, Hyptec and Proton passenger cars in Singapore, told Motorist: “Cat B didn’t go up as much as I thought it would. Cat A is there as I expected its premium to rebound. CNY is a period of festivity, fleet buyers will be on the hunt for cheaper COEs, and the overall demand will remain high. I do not see COE premiums slipping below $100k for all three categories A, B and E.” Ng Choon Wee, the Komoco Motors commercial director who handles Hyundai, said: “I am happy with the results of Cat B, as its increase of $2,534 is not as high as the $7,492 of Cat A. However, I was surprised that Cat E is lower than Cat B, signalling that prices for Cat B have reached a level of resistance. I expect Cat A to soften after CNY and Cat B to maintain at this level. The next COE quota period is February to April and we are waiting to see how many more COEs will be made available.” Here is a summary of the second COE bidding exercise for January 2026: