October 2024 COE Results 1st Bidding: The COE dragon hit new highs for 2024 in car Categories A, B and E, turbocharged by the three-week bidding gap and last weekend’s sales promotions at The Car Expo

In the first COE bidding exercise of October 2024 after a three-week break, Cat A closed at $103,799; Cat B closed at $116,002; Cat C closed at $75,009; Cat D closed at $10,001; while Cat E closed at $116,000.

Cat A (car up to 1600cc & 130bhp, and EV with up to 110kW) received 1,604 bids for 994 COEs and its premium climbed by $5,275. Category A COE closed at $103,799.

Cat B (car above 1600cc or 130bhp, and EV with more than 110kW) received 1,084 bids for 671 COEs and its premium climbed by $6,001. Category B COE closed at $116,002.

Cat C (goods vehicle and bus) received 321 bids for 218 COEs and its premium increased by $1,009. Category C COE closed at $75,009.

Cat D (motorcycle) received 604 bids for 520 COEs and its premium increased by $101. Category D COE closed at $10,001.

Lastly, Cat E (all vehicles except motorcycle) received 346 bids for 182 COEs and climbed by $2,896. Category E COE closed at $116,000.

Jason Lim, managing director of BMW authorised agent Eurokars Auto, told Motorist: “These increases are all within expectations, as BMW collected strong orders at Car Expo.”

Sabrina Sng, managing director of Polestar and Lotus under Wearnes Automotive, told Motorist: “These COE prices are not surprising, with Car Expo and the three-week break. The last round’s high Cat E premium was an indicator that the market expected a rise.”

Ron Lim, head of sales and marketing at Nissan authorised agent Tan Chong Motor, told Motorist: “Everyone already knew for sure it will go up due to the ‘double whammy’. Only question was, by how much. So was this expected? I would say, no surprise.”

Corinne Chua, managing director of Volvo Car Singapore under Wearnes Automotive, told Motorist: "There are a few premium brands selling Cat A cars and we heard their order-take was quite good."

Nicholas Wong, chief executive officer of Honda authorised agent Kah Motor, told Motorist: “Although COE prices have gone up by quite a bit, I don’t think there was panic bidding, because of the early announcement by LTA about the next quota.”

Ng Choon Wee, commercial director of Komoco Motors which represents Hyundai in Singapore, told Motorist: “The excess bids nearly doubled for Cat B and went up by more than 50 percent for Cat A. This signals that COE will remain strong in the next bid. It may soften come November when the quota size gets bigger, especially for Cat A. LTA released the quota for November 2024 to January 2025 earlier than expected, with a slightly bigger quota, but this did not reduce the impact of Car Expo and the three-week gap.”

Here is a summary of the first COE bidding exercise for October 2024: