More cars saw their COES revalidated in first 5 months of 2024

More car owners are choosing to keep their vehicles for more than 10 years, with 3,949 cars getting their certificates of entitlement (COES) revalidated in the first five months of 2024.

- Lee Nian Tjoe

This is close to the figure for the whole of 2023, when 4,403 cars saw their COEs revalidated.

It is also 74 per cent more than the 2,270 revalidations made in the same period in 2023.

In comparison, there were 15,946 car deregistrations made between January and May 2024. This is 46 per cent more than the 10,928 units in the same period in 2023.

Industry experts said that COE revalidations are up because owners who still want a car are finding it more attractive than forking out bigger sums for a new car.

Historically, revalidations of Category A COES, which are for smaller, less powerful cars and electric vehicles (EVs), have outnumbered revalidations for larger cars and EVs (Category B).

There were 2,396 Category A COE revalidations made in the first five months of 2024, up from 1,006 for the same period in 2023.

Of the 2,396 revalidations, 1,421 were five-year revalidations, a significant hike from 474 such revalidations in the same period in 2023.

A COE, which has a 10-year lifespan, is required to register and own a car here.

Owners can opt to revalidate the COE for either five or 10 years to continue using the vehicle.

The cost of revalidating a COE for 10 years at any given month is the average COE premium of the preceding three months. A fiveyear revalidation costs half as much.