Do Private-Hire Cars Raise COE Prices? What the Official Data Says
Use MOT’s August 2026 registration figures and assessment, while separating PHV fleet size, submitted bids and the clearing-price mechanism.
Private-hire cars participate in the same car-COE system, but their share of registrations does not by itself measure how much they add to premiums. MOT’s 5 August 2026 reply provides useful figures and an official assessment, with limits that should stay visible.
The reported shares
MOT said that, averaged over 2024 and 2025, about 10% of Category A and B registrations were cars owned by leasing companies and about 9% were private-hire cars owned by individuals. These figures concern the combined A and B registration context described in the reply; they are not separate percentages for each category or for every submitted bid.
The Ministry also said private cars registered by individuals made up more than three-quarters of registrations. Its assessment was that removing leasing-company and private-hire bids would not make the clearing price much lower, because most successful bids were typically within 5% of the eventual clearing price.
Attribute the assessment correctly
That is MOT’s assessment. The reply does not publish a complete bidder-level dataset or a precise counterfactual dollar premium that COEkaki can independently reproduce. It should not be converted into a claim that PHVs add exactly $15,000, or have exactly zero effect.
Why fleet size is a different measure
The existing PHV population includes vehicles registered in different years. A change in use of an already registered car is not automatically a new COE bid. Fleet stock, new registrations and submitted bids therefore need separate labels and periods.
Leasing-company ownership is also an ownership classification. Avoid assuming that every leasing-company registration has identical use or business economics.
How competition reaches the price
The clearing premium depends on the reserve-price boundary around the available quota. Counting one group’s successful registrations does not reveal all unsuccessful bids or what other bidders would do if that group were absent.
A proposed separate category would also need a quota allocation. Moving bidders and certificates at the same time is not equivalent to removing demand while leaving all supply behind.
What readers should take into a buying decision
Use the official figures to assess claims about the market, and use a complete affordable quote for your own purchase. A story blaming one buyer group cannot establish a future discount or justify a bid beyond your budget.
Sources and review date
Reviewed on 13 September 2026. Historical results retain their exercise dates; worked budgets are assumptions, not quotations.