Shrinking EV incentives, not COE overhaul, are what is driving car buyers to showrooms
Car showrooms were busy as usual on 10 October 2026, the first weekend after the Land Transport Authority (LTA) proposed an overhaul of the certificate of entitlement (COE) system, The Straits Times reported. Buyers it spoke to said the deadline worrying them most was the rollback of electric vehicle (EV) incentives in January 2027.
Buyers can currently get combined rebates of up to $30,000 for an EV under the EV Early Adoption Incentive (EEAI) and the Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES). The EEAI runs until 31 December 2026, and the VES will be scaled down from 1 January 2027, so the maximum rebate for EVs bought in 2027 drops to $20,000.
The COE proposal, published for consultation on 8 October, would merge car Categories A and B and then add a rebate or surcharge to the COE price according to a car’s value. According to the report, LTA set out two options based on bands of median open market value. One has three bands: the lowest gets a $15,000 rebate, the highest pays a $15,000 surcharge, and the middle pays the standard price. The other has five bands, including two with $7,500 rebates or surcharges. At the 7 October bidding exercise, Category A closed at $130,001 and Category B at $130,100.
Dealers interviewed by the newspaper had mixed views. Changan Singapore’s sales and product manager said footfall had been steady and that policy announcements often trigger a knee-jerk reaction. He noted that a lower-band EV might gain a $15,000 rebate but lose part of its EV incentives, so buyers would save less than it appears. A saleswoman at a luxury dealership said buyers of Category B cars were waiting, while some Category A hybrid buyers were acting sooner. She estimated a $275,000 hybrid could approach $300,000 in 2027 once a VES surcharge and a COE surcharge were added.
What it means for company cars: firms planning to switch company or pool cars to EVs face the same deadline. Vehicles registered before the end of 2026 can still qualify for the higher combined rebate. The COE changes are only a proposal, and feedback is open until 2 November. Commercial goods vehicles in Category C are not part of the proposal.
Source: The Straits Times — Read the original
