COE Category A: price and rules
Category A is the certificate for smaller cars. Latest result: $132,004 in the 2nd exercise of October 2026, read on 24 October 2026.
COE category for this car
Cat A
1,598 cc ≤ 1,600 cc and 96 kW ≤ 97 kW
| Cat A premium, October 2026 (2) | $132,004 |
| Cat B premium, same exercise | $131,901 |
| Cat E (open), same exercise | $135,790 |
| PQP to renew, November 2026 | $129,883 |
Rule for COEs obtained from the 1st exercise of May 2022. A Cat E COE can register a car of either category.
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · COE results read on 24 October 2026 (latest: 2nd exercise of October 2026)
The Category A premium closed at $132,004 in the 2nd exercise of October 2026, +$2,003 against the 1st exercise of October 2026. A car belongs to Category A when its engine is no larger than 1,600 cc and its maximum power no higher than 97 kW; a fully electric car qualifies up to 110 kW of motor power, a rule in force for certificates obtained since the first exercise of May 2022. Both limits apply together, so a 1.5 litre turbo engine with more than 97 kW goes into Category B. Over the last 24 exercises the Category A premium moved between $102,009 and $133,009; its average for 2026 so far is $120,931, against $102,912 in 2025. Type the engine figures from the brochure in the calculator to check the category of a model.
Category A results of the last 12 exercises
| Exercise | Premium | Quota | Bids | Bids per COE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2026 (2) | $132,004 | 1,191 | 1,574 | 1.32 |
| October 2026 (1) | $130,001 | 1,232 | 1,560 | 1.27 |
| September 2026 (2) | $131,890 | 1,193 | 1,507 | 1.26 |
| September 2026 (1) | $133,009 | 1,195 | 1,708 | 1.43 |
| August 2026 (2) | $128,501 | 1,197 | 1,600 | 1.34 |
| August 2026 (1) | $123,890 | 1,226 | 1,522 | 1.24 |
| July 2026 (2) | $126,000 | 1,245 | 1,590 | 1.28 |
| July 2026 (1) | $129,000 | 1,244 | 1,879 | 1.51 |
| June 2026 (2) | $123,847 | 1,251 | 1,768 | 1.41 |
| June 2026 (1) | $126,009 | 1,246 | 2,076 | 1.67 |
| May 2026 (2) | $124,229 | 1,239 | 2,283 | 1.84 |
| May 2026 (1) | $124,790 | 1,301 | 2,071 | 1.59 |
The fourth column counts valid bids, the last one divides them by the quota. When that ratio sits close to one, nearly everybody who bid got a certificate and the premium tends to ease; when it climbs well above one, more bidders had to be outbid and the premium rises. In the 2nd exercise of October 2026, 1,574 bids competed for 1,191 certificates.
The two limits, and why both matter
Category A was created for the mass market car. For a petrol or diesel car the test has two parts: an engine capacity of at most 1,600 cc and a maximum power output of at most 97 kW. The power limit is there because small turbocharged engines would otherwise put fast, expensive cars into the cheaper category. Today a car with a 1.4 litre turbo making 110 kW belongs to Category B despite its small engine. The calculator at the top applies both limits to the figures you type; take them from the brochure or the type approval, not from the name of the model.
Electric cars have no engine capacity, so for them only power counts, with a higher limit of 110 kW. That rule applies to COEs obtained from the first exercise of May 2022; before that, electric cars were sorted with the same 97 kW limit as petrol cars. Many compact electric models are offered in Singapore in a version tuned below 110 kW precisely so that they qualify. The EV road tax page explains how power also drives their road tax.
Cost per year of a Category A car
Cost per year over 10 years
$21,071
| OMV | $30,000 |
| Excise duty and GST | $9,240 |
| ARF after VES and EEAI | $34,000 |
| COE, October 2026 (2) | $132,004 |
What the Category A premium does to the price of a car
For a car with an OMV of $30,000, the taxes before the COE come to $73,590. Add the Category A premium of $132,004 and the total reaches $205,594: the certificate is 64% of the price before the dealer’s margin. That share is the main reason small cars in Singapore cost several times what they cost elsewhere. It also explains why a change of a few thousand dollars in the premium matters more to buyers of small cars than to buyers of large ones.
Spread over ten years and counting the PARF rebate at the end, that car costs about $21,071 a year before insurance, parking, petrol and ERP. A premium $10,000 higher adds $1,000 a year over ten years, because the COE rebate is zero for a certificate used to the end. The full cost calculator lets you replace the premium with any figure.
Averages over the years
The Category A premium averaged $120,931 over the 20 exercises held in 2026, after $102,912 in 2025. The highest result on record is $133,009 in the 1st exercise of September 2026. Long series show cycles: premiums fall when a large wave of ten year old cars is deregistered and the quota grows, and rise when the quota shrinks again. The Category B page compares the two car categories, and the COE results page shows all five side by side for any exercise.
Renewing a Category A COE
An owner who keeps a Category A car beyond ten years renews at the prevailing quota premium of the category, not at the latest result. Our calculation of the Category A PQP for renewals in November 2026 is $129,883, the average of the last three months of results. Renewal for five years costs half of that and cannot be repeated.