LTA announces more COEs for the upcoming quarter, with Category E seeing the largest jump.

Singapore will release 18,701 Certificates of Entitlement (COEs) for bidding between August and October 2025, marking a 2.6% increase from the previous quarter. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) confirmed the revised quota on July 28.

Higher COE Supply Ahead

The upcoming quota represents a rise from the 18,232 COEs available in the May–July period, which itself reflected a 6% increase. Compared with the same period in 2024, the current allocation is up by more than 22%, signaling a sustained rise in available COEs.

Category Breakdown

LTA data shows small increases across most categories, i.e.:
– Category A (mainstream passenger cars): up 1% to 7,586.
– Category B (larger cars): up 1% to 4,737.
– Category C (goods vehicles and buses): up 1% to 1,642.
– Category D (motorcycles): remains unchanged at 3,198.
– Category E (open category): surges 27% to 1,538.

The notable increase in Category E, which can be used to register most vehicle types except motorcycles, is expected to add flexibility in the market.

Factors Driving the Increase

According to LTA, the rise is primarily due to higher vehicle deregistrations from July 2024 to June 2025. Other factors include provisions for 0.25% annual growth in commercial vehicle COEs, adjustments for taxi fleet changes, expired temporary COEs, redistribution from guaranteed deregistrations, and the Early Turnover Scheme for commercial vehicles.

Long-Term COE Injection Plan

LTA reiterated its plan to progressively inject up to 20,000 additional COEs across all categories over the coming years, linked to the rollout of the ERP 2.0 system. This measure aims to stabilize the supply and manage bidding volatility.

Bidding Schedule
The first bidding exercise under the new quota will begin on August 4, 2025. The quota for the subsequent bidding period, November 2025 to January 2026, will be announced in October.

Market Implications

The larger supply, especially the significant jump in Category E, could influence COE prices in the short term. However, demand dynamics and market sentiment will ultimately determine bidding outcomes.

The latest COE quota increase reflects LTA’s ongoing efforts to balance supply and demand in Singapore’s tightly regulated vehicle market. With additional COEs entering the system and future injections planned, motorists and businesses alike will watch closely how these changes affect prices and availability.

Sources: CNA (2025 (2025), Business Times (2025)

Keywords: COE Quota Increase, LTA Announcement, Singapore Vehicle Bidding, Category E COE, Transport Policy Update