March 2024 COE Results 2nd Bidding: The COE dragon flew mostly on cruise control, with only Cat C seeing a drop

In the second COE bidding exercise of March 2024, Cat A closed at $85,489; Cat B closed at $96,011; Cat C closed at $70,112; Cat D closed at $9,689; while Cat E closed at $95,856.

Cat A (car up to 1600cc & 130bhp, and EV with up to 110kW) received 1,922 bids for 936 COEs and its premium climbed by $2,489. Category A COE closed at $85,489.

Cat B (car above 1600cc or 130bhp, and EV with more than 110kW) received 1,066 bids for 656 COEs and its premium climbed by a single dollar. Category B COE closed at $96,011.

Cat C (goods vehicle and bus) received 313 bids for 202 COEs and its premium decreased by $5,487 - or about 7.2 percent. Category C COE closed at $70,112.

Cat D (motorcycle) received 629 bids for 521 COEs and its premium increased by $289. Category D COE closed at $9,689.

Lastly, Cat E (all vehicles except motorcycle) received 256 bids for 157 COEs and climbed by $846. Category E COE closed at $95,856.

Ron Lim, head of sales and marketing at Nissan authorised agent Tan Chong Motor, told Motorist: “I was surprised by how aggressive the bidding for Cat A was. I heard some brands went all out to secure COE for their motorshow backlog cases, bidding as high as over $90k!. Cat B is largely in line with expectations, and looking at Open Cat price, the market is expecting Cat B to continue to remain flat. As for Cat C, the drop was expected as the last few rounds’ increase was due to the rush by some brands to secure COE to pre-register those stocks they have on hand that cannot meet the new noise emission standard, which will kick in from 1st April, mainly the buses and heavy goods vehicles.”

Nicholas Wong, chief executive officer of Honda authorised agent Kah Motor, told Motorist: “I think that the demand for certain models in Cat A is still strong, with a very high number of bids. There was a last-minute surge in the bids going in, but I don’t know the extent of the expansion programme that the PHV fleet players are doing. For the next round, it’s really hard to say, because the success rate in this round was only 50 percent, and it’s difficult in this type of situation for the COE to drop. Looking ahead, we may get more COEs from May onwards.” 

Corinne Chua, managing director of Volvo Car Singapore under Wearnes Automotive, told Motorist: “Generally, the market has been quieter because of the one-week school holidays and some customers were out of town. There are more options for Cat A cars in the premium segment, which explains why Cat A COE has been rising. As for the Cat E result, some dealers may still be holding on to Cat E COEs from earlier bids, so they are not bidding for more.”

Jason Lim, managing director of BMW authorised agent Eurokars Auto, told Motorist: “Cat A went up because it’s a crowded category. BMW, for example, has seven models in Category A this year. Furthermore, some brands have been aggressive, with promotions and roadshows everywhere. Therefore, it’s understandable for Cat A to go up. The demand for Cat B cars, however, is relatively flat. The next round is the last round for dealers to clear any Cat A backlog before Cars@Expo in the second week of April, which will probably put additional pressure on COE premiums in the bidding after the event.”

Here is a summary of the second COE bidding exercise for March 2024: