October 2025 COE Results 2nd Bidding: Scarier than Halloween is the COE monster, whose supernatural quota premiums for cars crept down in this round but were still frighteningly high

In the second COE bidding exercise of October 2025, Cat A closed at $122,000; Cat B closed at $131,889; Cat C closed at $76,801; Cat D closed at $9,389; while Cat E closed at $136,000.

Cat A (car up to 1600cc & 130bhp, and EV with up to 110kW) received 1,968 bids for 1,270 COEs and its premium dipped by $6,105. Category A COE closed at exactly $122,000.

Cat B (car above 1600cc or 130bhp, and EV with more than 110kW) received 977 bids for 809 COEs and its premium dipped by $9,111. Category B COE closed at $131,889.

Cat C (goods vehicle and bus) received 427 bids for 276 COEs and its premium increased by $2,500. Category C COE closed at $76,801.

Cat D (motorcycle) received 598 bids for 533 COEs and its premium decreased by $421. Category D COE closed at $9,389.

Lastly, Cat E (all vehicles except motorcycle) received 414 bids for 261 COEs and dipped by $4,009. Category E COE closed at exactly $136,000.

We asked several motor traders for their thoughts about the COE monster becoming slightly less monstrous in this round of COE bidding.

Nicholas Wong, CEO of Honda authorised agent Kah Motor, told Motorist: “The number of bids for new orders in Cat A dropped by more than 50 percent, hence it’s not surprising that there is a correction.”

Anthony Teo, MD of Vantage Automotive which handles strong-selling BYD/DENZA in Singapore, told Motorist: “It’s a bit of a market correction, because after the last COE went up, the order-take at the showroom started to see a slowdown. That’s why we saw a drop in both Cat A and Cat B. The Cat A drop is within my expectation, but the Cat B drop is slightly more than I expected.”

Soh Ming, MD of Dongfeng by Volt Auto, told Motorist: “It’s just a market correction. After all, COE went up by about $20k recently, so a $6k drop is still effectively a $14k increase for Cat A.”

Corinne Chua, MD of Volvo Car Singapore, told Motorist: “I think both Categories A and B have reached their maximum threshold that customers are willing to pay. We heard the orders in the market have been slow in the past two weeks, as can be seen in the drop of the number of unsuccessful bids. We have also heard that some brands didn’t bid for all their Cat A orders in this round, so this could be temporary.” 

Ron Lim, who heads Nissan sales and marketing at Tan Chong Motor, looked down the road to see where the COE monster might be headed in November and told Motorist: “COE prices have risen so much over the prior five consecutive rounds that the market is badly in need of a pause. But whether this correction continues will largely depend on the extent of increase in the new COE quota to be released. If the market or consumers sense that the new quota is not significant, it could trigger a rush again, taking advantage of today’s corrections. So, I really hope LTA can be more ‘generous’ this time round.”

Vantage Automotive’s Mr Teo added: “If the quota is going to increase a lot more than the market expects, there’s a chance that COE will further correct downward.”

Ng Choon Wee, commercial director of Hyundai authorised agent Komoco Motors, said: “Despite the drop, I am expecting consumers to continue taking the wait-and-see approach for further reductions in COE premiums, as the prices are still high.”

Jason Lim, MD of BMW authorised dealer Eurokars Auto, was succinct and positive when he told Motorist: “Market correction, good for buyers to come back shopping.”

Here is a summary of the second COE bidding exercise for October 2025: