Singapore’s middle class reels over record COE prices: ‘US$150,000 for a Toyota Corolla?’

The price of a permit to own a car, known as a certificate of entitlement (COE), has ballooned to US$75,000 in the land-scarce city state, before even factoring in the car’s cost

It’s put the dream of ownership beyond the reach of many in the middle class, who are left to contend with public transport – or get a motorbike

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Motorists wait at a junction on Orchard Road in Singapore. Certificates of entitlement were introduced in 1990 to limit the number of vehicles on the road. Photo: Roy Issa

Published: 9:30am, 13 May 2023

For two years, Singapore civil servant Lee Jun Hao, 28, patiently tracked the price of a permit to buy a car. Owning one in such a well-connected city was a “luxury”, he recognised, but it would save him time on commuting and be better suited to whisking his family around.

But Lee’s ownership dreams were punctured when it surpassed S$100,000 (US$75,000) for a small car, before even factoring in the cost of buying one.

For the city state’s burgeoning middle class, this is yet another cause for disillusionment, as other emblems of the “Singapore Dream”, including the ability to climb up the property ladder, become increasingly hard to attain.

“I’ve been on the lookout for a suitable car, however inflation is getting higher and the cost of living – especially the prices of cars – is getting higher too,” Lee said.

Vehicles cross the Benjamin Sheares Bridge in Singapore. The government has pushed for a “car-lite” society, encouraging the use of public transport and bicycles, among other measures. Photo: Reuters

In Singapore, every motorist or dealer who wants to own a vehicle must bid for a certificate of entitlement (COE), a system introduced in 1990 to limit the number of vehicles on the road. Each COE is classified based on the vehicle type and is valid for 10 years.

The transport authority controls the number of COEs available, announcing the quota every quarter. Permits now cost more than three times what they did in March 2020, when around S$31,000 was enough to secure a small-car COE. At the most recent bidding in May, a COE for a large car set drivers back almost S$120,000.

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