Small-car ownership permit price hits record $105,000 in world’s second richest country

Singapore has seen a record high price of S$105,000 for small-car ownership permits, marking the second richest country in the world for such a record. These permits, known as Certificates of Entitlement (COEs), have been used since 1990 to limit vehicle numbers on the road and control pollution in the city-state, which can be traversed by car in under an hour.

The latest premium, announced on September 9, is a 3.1% increase from the previous record of S$129,000 set in early July for Category A permits, which cover cars with a 1,600cc engine capacity or less and up to 130bhp. Other categories also saw increases, with Category B for larger cars up 3.1% to S$135,001 and COEs for commercial vehicles up 3.4% to S$93,101.

The Open category, typically used for larger cars, rose 2.1% to S$137,890, while motorcycle premiums increased by 11.1% to S$12,556. Motor dealers attribute the higher premiums to more time to build orders, the planned reduction in EV incentives from 2027, increased competition among dealers, demand from car owners nearing the end of their 10-year COE period, and expectations of continued premium rises.

Experts predict premiums will remain high until November due to dealer acceleration of sales before the EV incentive reduction. The high costs of COEs have made Singapore one of the most expensive cities to buy a car, with a median household income of S$149,352 in 2025 and government-subsidized flats starting at around S$139,000.

Rental cars have become increasingly common in Singapore, with their number hitting a record 97,567 units as of June, while private car ownership dropped to its lowest level since 2019 at 516,237 units, according to the Land Transport Authority. Rental vehicles now make up 14.9% of Singapore's 653,442 cars, up from 10.5% in 2021.