February–April 2026 COE Quota: What the Allocation Actually Shows
The February–April 2026 quota was 18,824. Compare the category totals, exercise allocations and supply formula without treating quota as a price forecast.
LTA allocated 18,824 COEs for February–April 2026. That was 160 fewer than the preceding November–January allocation of 18,984, a reduction of about 0.84%. This is a historical allocation review: February–April is an LTA quota period, not the April–June calendar quarter.
Quarterly totals and exercise quotas are different numbers
| Category | Three-month allocation |
|---|---|
| A | 7,585 |
| B | 4,864 |
| C | 1,742 |
| D | 3,198 |
| E | 1,435 |
| Total | 18,824 |
Do not describe Category A’s roughly 1,264 certificates per exercise as its monthly quota. There are normally two exercises each month, and their announced quotas need not be identical. In March the Category A exercise quotas were 1,268 and 1,264. Use the exercise allocation when dividing bids by supply; use the quarterly allocation when comparing LTA quota announcements.
Where this supply came from
The replacement component for this period used 25% of deregistrations from January–December 2025. The allocation also included the relevant growth component and adjustments. The published calculation, rather than a simple count of last month’s scrapped cars, is the basis for the next quarter.
The zero growth rates for A, B and D do not mean that every certificate in an exercise must directly match a recent deregistration. Redistribution and additional injections also matter. LTA announced the injection of up to about 20,000 additional COEs on 29 October 2024, with release progressively over several years from February 2025. It was not a promise of 20,000 extra certificates in a single year or category.
What the March results tell us
| Category | Exercises | Minimum | Mean premium | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 2 | S$108,220 | S$110,055 | S$111,890 |
| B | 2 | S$114,002 | S$114,785 | S$115,568 |
| C | 2 | S$76,000 | S$77,000 | S$78,000 |
| D | 2 | S$8,602 | S$9,096 | S$9,589 |
| E | 2 | S$114,890 | S$116,505 | S$118,119 |
Arithmetic mean across available exercises; no weighting by quota. Missing exercises are not invented. This table updates when a source record is corrected.
The March exercises closed on 4 and 18 March 2026. Category A rose from $108,220 to $111,890; Category B rose from $114,002 to $115,568. Those are observations about auction outcomes. They do not measure how much of the increase came from EV demand, dealer orders or changes in household budgets.
A total-quota headline can hide differences between categories. A buyer of a Category A vehicle cannot assume that an increase in Category B allocation will improve the supply available for their intended bid. Likewise, an announced rise in supply does not establish a dollar reduction in the next premium: the reserve prices submitted by bidders still matter.
How to use the announcement in a buying decision
- Identify the registered category of the exact variant you want.
- Compare its allocation with the previous period, keeping the units consistent.
- Check the quota and premium of the actual exercise, rather than dividing a rounded monthly estimate.
- Obtain an itemised on-road quotation and agree the dealer’s bidding and refund terms.
- Set a maximum you can afford, including a transport alternative if your bid fails.
The useful question is whether the offered package fits your budget and delivery deadline. There is no evidence here for a universal $5,000–$10,000 bidding buffer or a guaranteed premium range. Follow Quota Watch for newer allocations and the results archive for subsequent exercises.
Sources and review date
Reviewed on 13 September 2026. Historical results retain their exercise dates; worked budgets are assumptions, not quotations.