LTA proposes merging COE car categories, with fees and rebates for different models

Buyers of higher-end cars could pay up to S$30,000 more than mass-market buyers.

Vehicles on Singapore's roads. (File photo: TODAY/Nuria Ling)

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SINGAPORE: The Land Transport Authority (LTA) has proposed merging categories A and B Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) for cars into a single category, and to introduce surcharges and rebates pegged to a car’s open market value.

Under the proposed fee-and-rebate system, the maximum price difference between a higher-end car and a mass-market car would be S$30,000 (US$23,000).

This means that buyers of higher-end electric vehicles (EVs) who currently pay Category A premiums, which have traditionally been lower than in Category B, could pay more as a result.

A public consultation for the proposal opened at 5pm on Thursday (Oct 8) and will end at 11.59pm on Nov 2. LTA will share its findings and recommendations by the first half of 2027.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Categories A and B have traditionally segmented the market for cars into smaller, less powerful models and larger, more powerful ones, based on engine capacity and power. “However, advances in vehicle technology, particularly with the advent of EVs, have made these criteria less effective, with manufacturers increasingly able to adjust vehicle specifications to fit within existing Category A thresholds,” LTA said in a media release. This has increased competition in Category A and narrowed its price gap with Category B. Category A premiums exceeded Category B premiums three times between February and June this year. In the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday, Category A premiums closed at S$ 130,001 and Category B at S$ 130,100 .

Categories A and B have traditionally segmented the market for cars into smaller, less powerful models and larger, more powerful ones, based on engine capacity and power.

“However, advances in vehicle technology, particularly with the advent of EVs, have made these criteria less effective, with manufacturers increasingly able to adjust vehicle specifications to fit within existing Category A thresholds,” LTA said in a media release.

This has increased competition in Category A and narrowed its price gap with Category B. Category A premiums exceeded Category B premiums three times between February and June this year.

In the latest bidding exercise on Wednesday, Category A premiums closed at S$ 130,001 and Category B at S$ 130,100 .

“The objective of the public consultation is to seek views on how to more effectively distinguish between mass-market and higher-end cars in the COE system, while allowing COE prices to continue to be determined by market forces,” said LTA.

It comes after Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow said at the ministry’s Budget debate in March that he had asked LTA to review the issue.

The agency engaged more than 200 members of the public, academics and automotive industry representatives on their suggestions for the COE system, which allocates vehicle quotas to control traffic congestion in Singapore.

"As vehicle technology and the vehicle market continue to evolve, it is timely to review whether the current categorisation of cars remains fit-for-purpose. Through this consultation, we invite the public to share their views on the proposed changes and trade-offs involved," said LTA chief operating officer Lim Zhijian.

After the merger of the two categories, each car's COE price would be adjusted by a rebate or surcharge if necessary, based on the median open market value of the car model.

The open market value is the cost of a vehicle imported into Singapore as assessed by Singapore Customs, taking into account the purchase price, freight, insurance and all other sale and delivery charges for importing the car.

This value is currently used to calculate a car’s Additional Registration Fee.

The median open market value would be based on past registrations of the same model over a set period, such as the past year. The percentile into which that median falls would then determine which fee or rebate band applies to the car.

The consultation paper outlines two possible structures. A three-band structure would have a S$15,000 rebate band, a middle band with no adjustment and a S$15,000 surcharge band.

This would be simpler to administer but adjustments between adjacent bands would be larger, LTA said.

A five-band structure would more finely differentiate car models into S$15,000 or S$7,500 rebate bands, a middle band with no adjustment, and S$7,500 or S$15,000 surcharge bands.

This would reduce the difference in treatment between comparable cars in adjacent bands, but make administration more complex, LTA said.

LTA said it would review and publish the band for each car model annually to keep buyers informed before they decide on their purchases.

Car retailers would be able to appeal a band assignment.

LTA also sought views on whether the fee-and-rebate system should apply to COE renewals.

Asked at a media briefing how the rebate and surcharge amounts were set, LTA told reporters that this involved a judgment of what would be a meaningful price difference between mass-market and higher-end cars.

Based on historical data, the general difference between Category A and B prices has been about S$20,000 to S$30,000, notwithstanding the convergence in recent years, said the agency.

Had the system applied to the 52,678 cars newly registered in 2025, about half would have received a rebate or no change, while the other half would have faced a surcharge.

In considering the appropriate rebate and surcharge amounts, one possible reference point is the historical price gaps between Category A and Category B. This provides an indication of the difference in COE premiums that buyers of the two groups of cars have historically been willing to pay under the existing system.

WHAT HAPPENS TO CATEGORY E?

LTA also sought views on whether and how open category COEs – Category E – should change if cars only have one category.

Category E COEs can be used to register any vehicle except motorcycles. Their supply comes from 10 per cent of deregistrations from categories A and B for cars, and Category C for goods vehicles and buses.

The category is meant to accommodate changes in demand for different vehicle types. As these COEs are transferable, they are also sought by buyers who urgently need to register a vehicle without waiting for the next bidding exercise.

Bidders typically use open COEs to register vehicles in the category with the highest premium. In recent years, this has been mostly Category B cars, said LTA.

If categories A and B are merged, the open category would change from registering vehicles in three categories – two for cars and one for goods vehicles and buses – to registering vehicles in two categories – one for cars and one for goods vehicles and buses.

Category E would continue to be used mainly for cars, “at the expense” of goods vehicles and buses, said LTA.

LTA said one suggestion from focus group discussions was to scrap Category E to simplify the system, but it pointed out that this would adversely impact buyers who urgently need a car.

An alternative is to keep Category E for cars only, which would preserve those buyers' options without affecting Category C supply, it said.

NEEDS-BASED COE AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS

LTA also addressed other suggestions about the COE system raised in focus groups.

One suggestion was to give families with young children more support with car ownership. Similar calls have been made in parliament.

LTA said the key question was how to support families’ needs while preserving a COE system that is “market-based, equitable, and transparent”.

Allocating COEs by household circumstances requires judgment about whose needs should receive greater priority, said the agency. For example, more COEs for families with young children would mean fewer COEs for caregivers and multi-generational households.

Household circumstances also change over time, making it difficult to administer such a system fairly over the lifespan of a COE, said LTA.

The agency is instead working out the details of a transport grant to help offset the transport costs of large families with three or more Singaporean children, whether by taxi or public transport.

LTA also addressed the suggestion of imposing a surcharge on those who own more than one car, similar to the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty for residential properties.

It said multiple-car owners are not a key driver of COE demand, and a surcharge would be unlikely to significantly affect prices and difficult to administer fairly.

Last year, about 66,000, or 13 per cent, of car-owning households had more than one car, down from 87,000, or 19 per cent, in 2012.

Focus group participants also suggested creating a separate COE category for private-hire cars. But this would require quota to be taken from categories A and B, LTA said.

Too few COEs could cut the supply of private-hire cars and raise rental rates and fares, while too many could shrink the pool for private buyers and push up COE prices.

Private-hire cars are used for both ride-hail services and personal journeys, so a separate category would also need additional regulation to keep vehicles to their intended use.

Another suggestion was to ban motor dealers from bidding for COEs on behalf of their customers.

Rather than restricting who can bid, LTA said it was looking to encourage individual bidders by allowing them to make their initial bid online and reviewing the fees for making and revising bids.

The authority said it was also looking at ways to get motor dealers to publish unbundled car prices without COE to improve price transparency for individual buyers, who could compare prices and buy cars directly with their own COEs.

Some participants suggested changing the way the COE price is set to a pay-as-you-bid system.

The COE clearing price is currently set at the highest unsuccessful bid plus S$1, and all successful bidders in the category pay the same price.

In a pay-as-you-bid system, each successful bidder would pay the amount they actually bid. Participants believed this may encourage more conservative bids and lower COE prices.

LTA pointed out that COE bidding is an open auction, so bidders can observe the prevailing price and revise their bids during the exercise.

“Even if bidders were to pay what they bid, a rational bidder would always bid marginally above the prevailing price. This would be no different from the current system,” it said.

Most bids already cluster around the clearing price. About three in four successful Category A and B bids in 2025 were within 5 per cent of it. Among all bids, including unsuccessful ones, about two in three were within 5 per cent above or below it.

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高端汽车买家可能比大众市场买家多支付高达 3 万新元。

新加坡道路上的车辆。（资料照片：TODAY/Nuria Ling）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：陆路交通管理局 (LTA) 提议将 A 类和 B 类汽车拥车证 (COE) 合并为一类，并引入与汽车公开市场价值挂钩的附加费和回扣。

根据拟议的费用和回扣制度，高端汽车与大众市场汽车之间的最大价格差为 30,000 新元（23,000 美元）。

这意味着，目前支付 A 类溢价（传统上低于 B 类溢价）的高端电动汽车 (EV) 买家，可能会因此支付更多费用。

该提案的公众咨询于周四（10 月 8 日）下午 5 点开始，将于 11 月 2 日晚上 11 点 59 分结束。陆路交通管理局将于 2027 年上半年公布其调查结果和建议。

CNA游戏 猜词游戏 逐行破解单词 流行词游戏 用给定的字母组成单词 迷你数独 小小的谜题，强大的脑力挑战 迷你填字游戏 小方格，大挑战 单词搜索 尽可能多地找出单词 显示更多 显示更少 传统上，A类和B类汽车市场根据发动机排量和功率，将汽车市场划分为小型、低功率车型和大型、高功率车型。陆路交通管理局（LTA）在一份新闻稿中表示：“然而，汽车技术的进步，特别是电动汽车的出现，使得这些标准不再有效，制造商越来越能够调整车辆规格以符合现有的A类标准。” 这加剧了A类市场的竞争，并缩小了A类与B类之间的价格差距。今年2月至6月期间，A类溢价三次超过B类溢价。在周三的最新一次竞标中，A类溢价最终成交价为130,001新元，B类溢价最终成交价为130,100新元。

传统上，汽车市场根据发动机排量和功率分为 A 类和 B 类，将汽车市场细分为较小、动力较弱的车型和较大、动力较强的车型。

“然而，随着车辆技术的进步，特别是电动汽车的出现，这些标准的有效性有所降低，制造商越来越能够调整车辆规格以符合现有的 A 类门槛，”陆路交通管理局在一份新闻稿中表示。

这加剧了A类产品的竞争，缩小了其与B类产品的价格差距。今年2月至6月期间，A类产品的保费曾三次超过B类产品的保费。

在周三的最新竞标中，A类溢价最终成交价为130,001新加坡元，B类溢价最终成交价为130,100新加坡元。

陆路交通管理局表示：“此次公众咨询的目的是征求意见，探讨如何在拥车证制度中更有效地区分大众市场汽车和高端汽车，同时让拥车证价格继续由市场力量决定。”

此前，交通部长萧敬腾在3月份的交通部预算辩论中表示，他已要求陆路交通管理局重新审视该问题。

该机构就拥车证制度征求了 200 多名公众成员、学者和汽车行业代表的意见，该制度旨在分配车辆配额以控制新加坡的交通拥堵。

“随着汽车技术和汽车市场的不断发展，现在是时候重新审视当前的汽车分类是否仍然适用。通过此次咨询，我们邀请公众就拟议的变更及其利弊权衡发表意见，”陆路交通管理局首席运营官林志坚表示。

两类车辆合并后，每辆车的拥车证价格将根据该车型公开市场价格的中位数进行必要的折扣或附加费调整。

公开市场价值是指新加坡海关评估进口到新加坡的车辆的成本，其中考虑了购买价格、运费、保险费以及进口汽车的所有其他销售和交付费用。

该值目前用于计算车辆的附加注册费。

公开市场价格中位数将基于特定时期（例如过去一年）内同一车型的过往注册数据。该中位数所处的百分位数将决定该车辆适用的费用或折扣等级。

咨询文件概述了两种可能的方案。三级方案包括一个15,000新元的退税档位、一个不调整的中间档位和一个15,000新元的附加费档位。

陆路交通管理局表示，这样做管理起来会更简单，但相邻频段之间的调整幅度会更大。

五级结构将汽车型号更精细地区分为 15,000 新元或 7,500 新元的回扣等级、不调整的中间等级以及 7,500 新元或 15,000 新元的附加费等级。

陆路交通管理局表示，这将减少相邻档次中同类车辆之间的待遇差异，但会使管理更加复杂。

陆路交通管理局表示，将每年审查并公布每款车型的油耗等级，以便购车者在决定购买前了解相关信息。

汽车零售商可以对频段分配提出上诉。

陆路交通管理局还征求了关于收费和回扣制度是否应适用于拥车证续期的意见。

在一次媒体简报会上，当被问及回扣和附加费金额是如何确定时，陆路交通管理局告诉记者，这涉及到对大众市场汽车和高端汽车之间有意义的价格差异的判断。

该机构表示，根据历史数据，尽管近年来A类和B类价格有所趋同，但两者之间的总体差异约为2万至3万新元。

如果该系统应用于 2025 年新注册的 52,678 辆汽车，大约一半的车辆将获得退款或保持不变，而另一半车辆将面临附加费。

在考虑适当的回扣和附加费金额时，一个可能的参考点是A类车和B类车之间的历史价格差距。这可以表明在现有制度下，这两类车的买家过去愿意支付的拥车证溢价差异。

E类会发生什么？

陆路交通管理局还征求了意见，如果汽车只有一个类别，开放式拥车证（E类）是否以及如何改变。

E类拥车证可用于注册除摩托车以外的任何车辆。其来源为A类和B类乘用车以及C类货车和公共汽车注销车辆的10%。

该类别旨在满足不同类型车辆需求的变化。由于这些拥车证可以转让，因此也受到那些急需注册车辆而不想等待下一次竞标的买家的青睐。

陆路交通管理局表示，竞标者通常使用开放式拥车证（COE）注册溢价最高的车辆类别。近年来，这类车辆大多为B类车辆。

如果 A 类和 B 类合并，开放类别将从三类车辆登记（两类为轿车，一类为货车和公共汽车）变为两类车辆登记（一类为轿车，一类为货车和公共汽车）。

陆路交通管理局表示，E类道路将继续主要用于小汽车，“以牺牲”货车和公共汽车为代价。

陆路交通管理局表示，焦点小组讨论中的一项建议是取消 E 类购车资格以简化系统，但它指出，这将对急需用车的购车者产生不利影响。

报告称，另一种方案是将 E 类商品仅用于汽车，这样既能保留这些买家的选择权，又不会影响 C 类商品的供应。

基于需求的卓越中心及其他建议

LTA还回应了焦点小组提出的关于卓越中心（COE）系统的其他建议。

其中一项建议是为有幼儿的家庭提供更多购车方面的支持。议会中也曾提出过类似的呼吁。

陆路交通管理局表示，关键问题在于如何在满足家庭需求的同时，保持拥车证制度的“以市场为基础、公平透明”。

该机构表示，根据家庭情况分配住房券需要判断哪些家庭的需求应优先考虑。例如，为有幼儿的家庭提供更多住房券，就意味着为照护者和多代同堂家庭提供的住房券数量会减少。

陆路交通管理局表示，家庭情况也会随着时间推移而变化，因此很难在拥车证的有效期内公平地管理这样的制度。

该机构正在制定一项交通补助金的细节，以帮助抵消拥有三个或三个以上新加坡儿童的大家庭的交通费用，无论是乘坐出租车还是公共交通工具。

陆路交通管理局还回应了关于对拥有多辆汽车的人征收附加费的建议，类似于对住宅物业征收的额外买家印花税。

报告称，多车车主并非拥车证需求的主要驱动因素，附加费不太可能对价格产生重大影响，而且难以公平管理。

去年，约有 66,000 户（占 13%）拥有多辆汽车的家庭，低于 2012 年的 87,000 户（占 19%）。

焦点小组的参与者还建议为私召车设立单独的拥车证类别。但陆路交通管理局表示，这将需要从A类和B类拥车证中划拨配额。

拥车证数量过少可能会减少私召车的供应，提高租金和车费；而拥车证数量过多可能会缩小私人买家的选择范围，推高拥车证价格。

私人租赁车辆既用于网约车服务，也用于私人出行，因此需要单独设立一个类别，并制定额外的法规来规范车辆的用途。

另一项建议是禁止汽车经销商代表其客户竞标拥车证。

陆路交通管理局表示，与其限制投标人，不如鼓励个人投标人参与，允许他们在线提交初始投标，并审查投标和修改投标的费用。

该机构表示，他们也在研究如何让汽车经销商公布不含拥车证的汽车价格，以提高价格透明度，方便个人买家比较价格并使用自己的拥车证直接购买汽车。

一些参与者建议改变拥车证价格的设定方式，改为按竞价付费制度。

目前拥车证清算价格设定为最高未中标价加 1 新元，该类别所有中标者支付相同的价格。

在按出价付费的模式下，每位中标者只需支付其实际出价金额。参与者认为，这可能会促使出价更加保守，从而降低拥车证价格。

陆路交通管理局指出，拥车证竞标是公开拍卖，因此竞标者可以在竞标过程中观察现行价格并修改他们的出价。

报告称：“即使竞标者按出价支付，理性的竞标者也总是会出价略高于市场价。这与现行制度并无二致。”

大多数竞价已经集中在清算价格附近。2025年，A类和B类成功竞价中，约四分之三的竞价与清算价格的偏差在5%以内。在所有竞价中（包括未成功的竞价），约三分之二的竞价与清算价格的偏差在5%以内。

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