COE: Category C edges up to $92,200 in second October round as bids rise
The Certificate of Entitlement (COE) premium for goods vehicles and buses rose slightly at the second October 2026 bidding exercise, which closed on Wednesday, 21 October. Category C ended at $92,200, up $311 or 0.34 per cent from $91,889 in the first October round, CNA reported.
According to the results published by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), there were 308 Category C certificates available in this round, made up of 306 from the August to October quota and two unallocated COEs carried over from the second September exercise. LTA received 481 bids, of which 307 were successful and 174 were not. One certificate went unused and will be carried forward.
Demand for commercial vehicle COEs picked up a little from the previous round, when 471 bids were made for 310 certificates. With roughly 1.6 bids for every certificate, competition in Category C remains steady rather than heated, which is consistent with the premium moving by only a few hundred dollars.
Car premiums rose more sharply. Category A closed at $132,004, up from $130,001, which CNA noted is the second-highest Category A premium on record. Category B rose to $131,901 from $130,100. The Open Category E, which can be used for goods vehicles as well as cars, fell to $135,790 from $137,000, while Category D for motorcycles eased to $10,778 from $11,012. Across all categories, 4,226 bids were received for 3,231 certificates.
For fleet owners weighing a COE renewal, LTA’s figures put the Category C Prevailing Quota Premium (PQP) at $91,814 for November, down from $92,614 in October. The PQP is the three-month moving average that owners pay to renew a COE instead of bidding for a new one, so a lower figure slightly reduces the cost of keeping an existing van, lorry or bus on the road.
Category C has now stayed in a narrow band in the low $90,000s for several rounds, closing at $92,144 in late September and $91,889 in early October before this round’s $92,200. For businesses budgeting for replacements or fleet expansion, that means there is little sign of a meaningful drop in the near term.
This was the last bidding exercise under the August to October 2026 quota. LTA said in July that it would announce the COE quota for November 2026 to January 2027 in October, and that supply figure will be the next signal for commercial vehicle premiums. Under LTA’s usual schedule, bidding exercises open on the first and third Monday of each month.
Separately, LTA’s public consultation on merging car Categories A and B runs until 11.59pm on 2 November. The proposal covers cars only and does not change Category C.
Source: CNA, with results published by LTA — Read the original
