Cat B COE price falls to $105,001, below Cat A in a first since 2020

This is the first COE tender since PM Wong announced lower PARF rebates last week

- Lee Nian Tjoe Senior Transport Correspondent

For the first time since 2020, certificates of entitlement (COEs) for mass-market cars cost more than those for premium cars at the close of the latest tender exercise on Feb 20.

The COE premium for larger and more powerful cars and electric vehicles (EVs) fell by 5.3 per cent to $105,001 at the first COE tender since Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced on Feb 12 that preferential additional registration fee (PARF) rebate would be significantly lowered.

A Category B COE costs $110,890 at the previous tender that closed on Feb 4.

The Category A premium, meant for smaller and less powerful cars and EVs, increased by 0.2 per cent from $106,320 in the previous exercise to $106,501.

The Open category, or Category E, premium fell by 2.7 per cent, from $116,000 to $112,890. Category E certificates can be used to register any vehicle type except motorcycles, but usually end up being used mostly for bigger cars.

As such certificates are transferable, they give motor dealers the flexibility to register cars without having to wait for the next tender exercise.

At $74,999, the price of commercial vehicle (Category C) COEs is up 0.3 per cent from $74,801 two weeks ago.