February 2026 COE Results 2nd Bidding: The COE pony started its Year of the Horse with an anomaly - Cat A costing more than Cat B

In the second COE bidding exercise of February 2026, Cat A closed at $106,501; Cat B closed at $105,001; Cat C closed at $74,999; Cat D closed at $7,989; while Cat E closed at $112,890.

Cat A (car up to 1600cc & 130bhp, and EV with up to 110kW) received 1,975 bids for 1,289 COEs and its premium climbed by $181. Category A COE closed at $106,501.

Cat B (car above 1600cc or 130bhp, and EV with more than 110kW) received 1,353 bids for 813 COEs and its premium dipped by $5,889. Category B COE closed at $105,001.

Cat C (goods vehicle and bus) received 502 bids for 294 COEs and its premium increased by $198. Category C COE closed at $74,999.

Cat D (motorcycle) received 665 bids for 548 COEs and its premium decreased by $300. Category D COE closed at $7,989.

Lastly, Cat E (all vehicles except motorcycle) received 571 bids for 239 COEs and dipped by $3,110,. Category E COE closed at $112,890.

The Motorist editor paused his overeating of CNY pineapple tarts and asked several senior executives for their thoughts on the Cat A COE premium being higher than that for Cat B, which last happened six years ago in the second bidding exercise of 2020 March, right before Singapore’s unprecedented Circuit Breaker lockdown to combat COVID-19. 

Anthony Teo, Vantage Automotive MD in charge of BYD and DENZA, answered: “I think it will spur the demand for Cat B, which is usually more for the high-end or more premium cars. Cat A is still pretty strong, so people are still buying Cat A cars for sure. Cat B is pretty weak, which means that people are not willing to come in yet and they are observing the trend.”

Nicholas Wong, Kah Motor CEO in charge of Honda passenger cars, said: “With the migration of Cat B (buyers) to Cat A, the pressure on A is keeping its prices up. Cat E was also exceptional due to the low B, it’s now $7k higher than B!”

Jason Lim, Eurokars MD for BMW and MINI, said: “Gong Xi Fa Cai! Expected a drop and B to be lower than A.” 

Vincent Ng, consultant to multi-brand Vincar Group (GAC, Aion, Hyptec, Proton), said: “It looks like ‘premium’ EVs with Cat A models have tilted the demand a bit, obscuring the line between an ‘affordable’ EV and a ‘premium’ EV. The last five minutes of bidding also saw premiums moving up, with the number of bids submitted increasingly rapidly. This indicates fleet-buy at work. The COE premiums could have corrected to below $100k for both categories if not for these fleet players.”

Before the Motorist editor returned to his CNY pineapple tarts, a Leng Kee dealership GM told him: “Cat B was within expectations, except that A is now higher than B.”

Here is a summary of the second COE bidding exercise for February 2026: