In June 2026 the cheapest brand-new cars you can drive away in Singapore are small Category A models like the Perodua Bezza, Mitsubishi Attrage and Mitsubishi Space Star, with on-the-road prices in the region of $130,000 to $145,000 once COE and taxes are folded in. That is the honest number, not the sticker. A Category A COE alone closed at $123,847 in the second June 2026 bidding (Motorist Singapore), so the certificate alone usually costs more than the car, taxes and registration combined. This guide shows which models are genuinely cheapest right now, how the final price is built up from OMV, COE and three layers of tax, and how to budget so the cheapest car on the lot is also the cheapest one to keep.
The entry point to a new car has not changed in shape: it is a small, frugal Category A sedan or hatchback from a value brand. What has changed is the price, because almost all of it is COE, and COE moves every fortnight. Treat any single figure as a snapshot, not a fixed price.
As of the June 2026 bidding cycle, the consistently cheapest new cars are the Perodua Bezza, the Mitsubishi Attrage and the Mitsubishi Space Star, all 1.2 to 1.3-litre cars that sit in Category A. Dealers quote these from around the low-to-mid $130,000s on the road, depending on the COE they secured and any promotion running that month. The Honda Fit, Toyota Vios and small Hyundai and Kia models sit just above.
You will still see headline ads from $89,999 or similar. Those are usually anchored to an old, much lower COE, a guaranteed-COE promotion where the dealer eats part of the premium, or a teaser that excludes the certificate. With the Cat A COE at $123,847 in the second June 2026 bidding, a real all-in price below about $130,000 for any new car is the exception, not the rule, because the certificate by itself is already close to that figure. Always ask for the full on-the-road price in writing before you get excited.
| Model | Engine | COE category | Indicative OTR with COE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perodua Bezza 1.3 | 1,329cc petrol | Cat A | ~$130,000–$140,000 |
| Mitsubishi Attrage 1.2 | 1,193cc petrol | Cat A | ~$130,000–$145,000 |
| Mitsubishi Space Star 1.2 | 1,193cc petrol | Cat A | ~$130,000–$145,000 |
| Honda Fit 1.3 | 1,317cc petrol | Cat A | ~$135,000–$150,000 |
| Toyota Vios 1.5 | 1,496cc petrol | Cat A | ~$140,000–$155,000 |
| BYD Dolphin (cheapest new EV) | 70kW electric | Cat A | ~$157,000 |
Something shifted in the 2026 market. For years the entry point was a small petrol sedan, and a Bezza or an Attrage still leads on the lowest sticker. But the gap to the cheapest new EVs has closed so much that the bottom of the price list is now crowded with electric models, mostly from Chinese makers. Several brand-new EVs now land in the same band as the cheapest petrol cars, and a few undercut some petrol models once the rebates are applied.
The reason is the rebate stack described later in this guide. An EV in the cleanest emissions band can take up to $30,000 off its ARF in 2026, which is enough to drag a car with a higher pre-rebate price down into budget territory. Pair that with aggressive launch pricing from new entrants fighting for market share, and the cheapest new EVs now sit roughly between $150,000 and $170,000 on the road, against the high $120,000s to mid $140,000s for the cheapest petrol cars.
The honest takeaway for 2026 is that there is no longer a new car of any kind selling much below the high $120,000s, because the COE floor alone sets that level. If your budget is the deciding factor, shortlist the cheapest petrol cars and the cheapest rebated EVs together and compare them on total cost over the years you will keep the car, not on the sticker. The EV often loses on purchase price and wins on running cost, and which one wins overall depends entirely on your mileage.
| Type | Example models | Indicative OTR with COE |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest petrol | Perodua Bezza, Mitsubishi Attrage, Space Star | ~$130,000–$145,000 |
| Cheapest mass-market EV | BYD Dolphin | ~$152,000–$157,000 |
| Other budget EVs (Cat A) | Opel Corsa-e, Seres 3, BYD Atto 2, Omoda E5 | ~$149,000–$167,000 |
| Cheapest hybrid | Toyota / small e-POWER models | from ~$150,000s |
The price of a new car in Singapore is mostly tax and certificate, not metal. The car's actual import value is small relative to what you pay. Understanding the build-up tells you where the cheapest cars save money and where they cannot.
It starts with the Open Market Value (OMV), which is what Singapore Customs assesses the car to be worth, covering its price, freight and insurance to get it here. For a budget small car the OMV might be only around $11,000 to $15,000. Everything else is stacked on top of that.
On the OMV the government adds an excise duty of 20%, then 9% GST on the OMV plus excise duty. Then comes the Additional Registration Fee (ARF), a tax charged as a percentage of OMV on a rising scale. There is a flat registration fee of $350. And then the COE, which for a Category A car was $123,847 in the second June 2026 bidding. Stack all of that and a car with a low OMV easily clears $130,000 on the road, since the COE alone is close to that figure.
The Additional Registration Fee is the part of the tax that most rewards buying a cheaper car, because it rises in tiers with OMV. The more expensive the car before tax, the more aggressively it is taxed.
For cars registered with COEs from February 2023 onwards, the tiers run as below. Only the slice of OMV inside each band is taxed at that band's rate, the same bracket logic as income tax. A small car with a low OMV stays entirely in the bottom 100% band, while a luxury car pushes into the 250% and 320% bands.
This is why a $20,000-OMV economy car pays ARF of roughly $20,000, while a $100,000-OMV continental car can pay ARF well north of $200,000. Choosing a low-OMV car does not just save on the car price, it compounds into lower excise duty, lower GST and far lower ARF. See the ARF glossary entry for the full mechanics.
| OMV band | ARF rate |
|---|---|
| First $20,000 | 100% |
| $20,001 to $40,000 | 140% |
| $40,001 to $60,000 | 190% |
| $60,001 to $80,000 | 250% |
| Above $80,000 | 320% |
If you remember one thing, remember that COE is the swing factor. A small car's OMV and tax barely move month to month, but the COE can swing $20,000 or more within a few months, and that lands directly in your final price. Timing the certificate matters more than haggling the car.
Cars are split into Category A and Category B. For petrol and diesel cars, Cat A covers engines up to 1,600cc with maximum power up to 97kW (about 130bhp); electric cars qualify for Cat A with maximum power up to 110kW. Anything above those limits falls into Category B. Almost every cheapest-car contender is deliberately built to qualify for Category A, which is usually, though not always, the lower of the two car premiums. Some makers detune a car's power to just under the Cat A ceiling specifically to keep it there.
COE is bid twice a month and the result is public. Below are the second June 2026 results so you can see the scale. Watch the trend over a few exercises rather than reacting to one number; premiums have swung between roughly $90,000 and $130,000 for Cat A across 2025 and 2026.
| Category | Covers | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Cat A | Cars ≤1,600cc & ≤97kW, or EVs ≤110kW | $123,847 |
| Cat B | Cars >1,600cc or >97kW (EVs >110kW) | $123,502 |
| Cat C | Goods vehicles and buses | $93,001 |
| Cat D | Motorcycles | $9,989 |
| Cat E | Open (any vehicle except motorcycle) | $129,002 |
Dealers often sell with a guaranteed COE, meaning they promise a fixed all-in price even if the actual premium they bid comes in higher. That protects you from a spike, but if COE falls below their guaranteed level, the dealer keeps the difference. It is a hedge, not a discount. If you are confident COE is on the way down, an open or bid-at-cost arrangement can be cheaper; if you need price certainty, the guarantee is worth paying for. Either way, get the COE basis stated clearly in the sales agreement.
The cheapest new petrol cars are still cheaper to buy than the cheapest new EVs, but rebates narrow the gap, and EVs cost less to run. The cheapest mass-market new EV in Singapore is the BYD Dolphin, with an all-in price in the $150,000s in 2026. That is more than a Bezza upfront, but the running-cost picture is different.
Two rebates push EV prices down. Under the Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES), a car in the cleanest Band A gets a $22,500 ARF rebate in 2026, which most new EVs qualify for. On top of that, the EV Early Adoption Incentive (EEAI) gives a 45% ARF rebate capped at $7,500 for EVs registered in 2026. Stacked, that is up to $30,000 off ARF. The EEAI is scheduled to end on 31 December 2026, so the incentive shrinks for cars registered later.
VES also runs the other way. Petrol cars in the dirtier bands pay surcharges in 2026: Band C1 adds $7,500, Band C2 adds $22,500, and the new Band C3 adds $35,000. A thirsty older-design petrol car can quietly carry a five-figure surcharge, which is one more reason the cheapest cars tend to be small, efficient, recent designs that sit in the neutral Band B or qualify for Band A.
On running costs the gap is real and measurable. At the median public AC charging rate of around $0.675 per kWh in 2026 (Revolt.sg price index), an EV runs at roughly $0.10 to $0.12 a kilometre, against about $0.25 to $0.31 for a petrol car at pump prices. Over 15,000 km a year that is in the region of $1,600 to $1,700 in charging against $4,000 to $5,000 in petrol, a saving of a few thousand dollars annually if you drive a normal commute. Charge at home off a cheaper night plan and the EV gap widens further.
The EV does pay a flat $700 a year on top of its power-based road tax, because EVs avoid fuel duty and this recovers some of it. Work out your own annual mileage before assuming the EV wins. For a low-mileage weekend driver the fuel saving is small, so the petrol car's lower purchase price can stay ahead for years; for a daily 40 km commuter the EV's running-cost edge starts to repay its higher sticker. Our road tax guide shows how the EV figure is built, and the car cost calculator lets you put your own mileage and price into the comparison.
Buying the cheapest car is also about what you get back when you scrap or sell it. When a car is deregistered, the owner can receive a PARF rebate, a partial refund of the ARF paid, plus any unused COE value. In Budget 2026 the government cut this sharply, and it changes how you should think about a cheap new car.
For cars registered with COEs obtained from the second February 2026 COE bidding exercise onwards (the exercise that concluded on 20 February 2026), the PARF rebate cap dropped from $60,000 to $30,000, and the percentages fell across the board (LTA). A car deregistered at no more than five years old now gets 30% of ARF back, down from 75%, and a car scrapped between nine and 10 years old gets just 5% of ARF, down from 50%. Cars deregistered after 10 years still get no PARF rebate at all.
The practical effect is that the cheapest cars look even better than pricier ones, because they paid less ARF to begin with, so they had less to lose in the cut. A luxury car that used to bank a $60,000 PARF rebate now caps at $30,000, a real reduction in resale value. A budget car that paid $20,000 ARF was never near the old cap, so the percentage cut bites less in dollar terms. If you keep cars for the full 10-year COE rather than flipping them every few years, the PARF change matters less to you either way.
The on-the-road price is the only number that matters, and you should always reduce a quote to that single figure. It bundles the car, COE, all taxes, registration and usually the first year of road tax and a basic insurance, though confirm exactly what is included.
Build a simple side-by-side before you commit. Ask each dealer for the OTR price, the COE basis (guaranteed or open), what is and is not included, and the indicative monthly instalment with their assumed loan. Then layer your own running costs on top so you compare the cost of keeping the car, not just buying it.
Loan rules cap how much you can borrow. For a car with OMV at or below $20,000 you can finance up to 70% of the purchase price over a maximum of 7 years; above that OMV the cap is 60%. On a $125,000 car at 70%, that is an $87,500 loan and a $37,500 cash down payment, which is a real hurdle that the headline price hides. Run the numbers through a personal budget and check the instalment against your take-home pay with the salary calculator before you decide.
The cheapest new car is still a six-figure decision, so it is worth knowing the three routes that beat it on price before you commit to a fresh registration. None is automatically better; each trades upfront cost against risk and the years of life you get.
A used car is the obvious one. A three to five-year-old version of the same small Cat A model often sells for tens of thousands less than new, because the first owner has already absorbed the steepest depreciation and the registered COE comes with the car. The trade-off is a shorter remaining COE life, an older battery or engine, and you inherit whatever the previous owner did or did not maintain. Always check the COE expiry date and the remaining PARF eligibility, because both decide what the car is worth when you exit. Our guide to what drives the cost of a car in Singapore breaks down how age changes the sums.
COE renewal is the route people forget. When a car hits its 10-year COE expiry, the owner can renew the COE for another 5 or 10 years by paying the Prevailing Quota Premium, the moving average of recent COE prices, with no fresh ARF and no new car to buy. On an old but mechanically sound small car this can be the cheapest way to stay on the road, though a renewed car gets no PARF rebate when finally scrapped. The scrap, COE and PARF rebate guide walks through when renewal beats replacing.
Then there is not owning at all. For many young Singaporean households the maths favours public transport topped up with the occasional ride-hail and a car-sharing membership, which together come in well under the cost of owning even the cheapest new car. We compare that head to head in the car sharing versus owning guide.
| Option | Typical upfront | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest new car | ~$130,000+ OTR, ~$40,000 cash down | Full price, full 10-year COE, full PARF eligibility |
| Used Cat A car (3–5 yrs) | Tens of thousands less | Shorter remaining COE, older condition, smaller PARF later |
| COE renewal on an old car | Prevailing Quota Premium only | No new ARF, but no PARF rebate at scrap |
| No car (transit + ride-hail + car share) | Pay per trip | Less convenience, no fixed asset, often far cheaper overall |
A cheap purchase price is not the same as a cheap car. Depreciation is the largest cost of ownership, and on a $125,000 car held for its 10-year COE life with a small PARF rebate, you are effectively writing off most of that over the decade. That alone is over $10,000 a year before you turn the key.
On top of depreciation, a small 1.0 to 1.3-litre car runs cheaply: road tax of roughly $400 to $500 a year for the smallest engines, fuel of around $2,500 to $4,000 a year for an average commuter, insurance of about $1,000 to $1,500, and servicing of $1,000 to $2,000. Add season parking and ERP, which in many estates and CBD commutes runs $1,500 to $3,000 a year. Plenty of people find the all-in running cost lands near $15,000 a year once depreciation is counted, even on the cheapest car.
That is the honest comparison to make against not owning a car at all. For many young working adults in Singapore, a mix of public transport, the occasional taxi or ride-hail, and a car-sharing membership comes in well under the cost of owning even the cheapest new car. Buy one because you genuinely need it for your routine, not because the entry price looked reachable. If you do buy, the cheapest sensible choice is a small, efficient, low-OMV Category A car bought when COE is on a downswing, kept for the full 10 years.
Small Category A models like the Perodua Bezza, Mitsubishi Attrage and Mitsubishi Space Star are the cheapest, with on-the-road prices roughly in the $130,000 to $145,000 range as of mid-2026. The exact figure moves with COE, which is the largest single cost. Headline ads from around $89,999 are usually guaranteed-COE promotions, not the real all-in price at current COE levels.
Most of the price is tax and certificate, not the car. On top of the import value (OMV) you pay 20% excise duty, 9% GST, a tiered ARF, a $350 registration fee, and the COE. The Category A COE alone was $123,847 in the second June 2026 bidding, often more than the car itself.
The cheapest new petrol cars are cheaper to buy than the cheapest new EVs, even after EV rebates of up to $30,000 off ARF in 2026. EVs cost less to run per kilometre but pay a flat $700 a year road-tax component. For low-mileage drivers, the petrol car can stay cheaper for years on a total-cost basis.
Almost all budget cars are built to fit Category A (engine up to 1,600cc and power up to 130bhp), so you bid for a Cat A COE. In the second June 2026 exercise that premium was $123,847. It is set by fortnightly bidding, so check the latest result before committing.
The OTR price is the all-in figure to drive a new car away. It bundles the car, COE, excise duty, GST, ARF and registration, and usually the first year of road tax and a basic insurance. Always confirm exactly what each dealer includes, because the contents vary.
For a car with OMV at or below $20,000 you can borrow up to 70% of the purchase price over a maximum of 7 years. Above that OMV the cap is 60%. On a $125,000 car at 70%, that is an $87,500 loan and a $37,500 cash down payment.
Cheaper cars pay less ARF, so their PARF rebate is smaller in dollars but they had less to lose from the February 2026 cut, which lowered the cap from $60,000 to $30,000 and the percentages across the board. Pricier cars lost more value from the change.
Usually yes on upfront cost. A three to five-year-old version of the same small Cat A model sells for tens of thousands less than new because the first owner already took the steepest depreciation, and the COE comes with the car. The trade-offs are a shorter remaining COE life, an older car, and a smaller PARF rebate when you eventually scrap it. Check the COE expiry date before you buy.
When COE is on a downswing, because the certificate is the largest and most volatile part of the price. Cat A premiums have swung between roughly $90,000 and $130,000 across 2025 and 2026, so a few thousand dollars of timing can outweigh any discount you haggle on the car. Watch a few fortnightly bidding results in a row rather than reacting to one number, and confirm whether a quote is on a guaranteed or open COE basis.
At the 2026 median public charging rate of around $0.675 per kWh, an EV runs at roughly $0.10 to $0.12 a kilometre against about $0.25 to $0.31 for petrol. Over 15,000 km a year that is a saving of several thousand dollars, though the EV pays a flat $700 annual road-tax surcharge. The fuel saving only repays the EV's higher purchase price if your mileage is high enough, so run your own numbers.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.