Cheapest New Car in Singapore (2026): Real Prices With COE

'What's the cheapest new car in Singapore, really?' In June 2026, it's a small Category A car like the Perodua Bezza, Mitsubishi Attrage or Mitsubishi Space Star. On the road, that's about S$130,000 to S$145,000, with the COE and all the taxes in. The COE is the certificate you need to own a car, and for Category A it cost S$123,847 in the second June 2026 bidding. So the certificate alone usually costs more than the car, its taxes and registration put together. Below are the cheapest models right now and how the price is built up. You'll also see how to budget so the cheapest car to buy is the cheapest one to keep, too.

Which new cars are the cheapest in Singapore right now?

As of the June 2026 bidding, the cheapest new cars are the Perodua Bezza, the Mitsubishi Attrage and the Mitsubishi Space Star. All three are 1.2 to 1.3-litre cars in Category A.

Dealers quote them from the low-to-mid S$130,000s on the road. Where yours lands depends on the COE the dealer got and any promotion that month. The Honda Fit, Toyota Vios and the small Hyundai and Kia models sit just above.

The shape of the cheapest car hasn't changed: a small, frugal sedan or hatchback from a value brand. The price has, because almost all of it is now COE. COE moves every fortnight, so any one figure is only a snapshot of that fortnight.

So what about the ads from S$89,999? Most lean on an old, much lower COE.

Some are guaranteed-COE deals where the dealer eats part of the premium, and some leave the certificate out altogether. With the Cat A COE at S$123,847 in the second June 2026 bidding, an all-in price under about S$130,000 is rare for any new car. The certificate alone is nearly that much.

Ask for the full on-the-road price in writing before you get excited.

Cheapest new cars in Singapore, estimated OTR prices, June 2026 (prices move with COE)
Model	Engine	COE category	Indicative OTR with COE
Perodua Bezza 1.3	1,329cc petrol	Cat A	~S$130,000 to S$140,000
Mitsubishi Attrage 1.2	1,193cc petrol	Cat A	~S$130,000 to S$145,000
Mitsubishi Space Star 1.2	1,193cc petrol	Cat A	~S$130,000 to S$145,000
Honda Fit 1.3	1,317cc petrol	Cat A	~S$135,000 to S$150,000
Toyota Vios 1.5	1,496cc petrol	Cat A	~S$140,000 to S$155,000
BYD Dolphin (cheapest new EV)	70kW electric	Cat A	~S$157,000

Is the cheapest new car in 2026 an electric one now?

Not quite, but it's close. A Bezza or an Attrage still has the lowest price. The cheapest new EVs, mostly from Chinese makers, now crowd the price list just above them.

Several new EVs land in the same price band as the cheapest petrol cars. Once the rebates are in, a few even undercut some petrol models.

The rebates are why. In 2026, an EV in the cleanest emissions band can take up to S$30,000 off its ARF, the Additional Registration Fee charged on the car's value. That's enough to pull a pricier car down into budget territory, and new brands are pricing hard to win buyers on top of it.

Together, that puts the cheapest new EVs at roughly S$150,000 to S$170,000 on the road. The cheapest petrol cars sit between the high S$120,000s and the mid S$140,000s.

So in 2026, no new car of any kind sells much below the high S$120,000s, because the COE alone sets that floor.

If budget decides it for you, shortlist the cheapest petrol cars and the cheapest EVs together. Compare them on what they'll cost over all the years you keep the car. The EV often loses on price and wins on running costs, and your mileage decides which one comes out ahead.

Cheapest new EVs vs cheapest new petrol cars, estimated 2026 OTR prices (move with COE and rebates)
Type	Example models	Indicative OTR with COE
Cheapest petrol	Perodua Bezza, Mitsubishi Attrage, Space Star	~S$130,000 to S$145,000
Cheapest mass-market EV	BYD Dolphin	~S$152,000 to S$157,000
Other budget EVs (Cat A)	Opel Corsa-e, Seres 3, BYD Atto 2, Omoda E5	~S$149,000 to S$167,000
Cheapest hybrid	Toyota / small e-POWER models	from the S$150,000s

Why does even the cheapest new car cost six figures?

Most of what you pay for a new car goes on tax and the COE.

The car's own import value is only a small slice. Knowing how the rest stacks up shows where a cheap car saves you money, and where it can't.

It all starts with the Open Market Value, or OMV. That's the value Singapore Customs puts on the car, covering its price, freight and insurance to get it here. For a small budget car the OMV might be only about S$11,000 to S$15,000, and everything else sits on top.

First comes a 20% excise duty on the OMV. Then there's 9% GST on the OMV plus that duty. Next is the ARF, a percentage of the OMV that climbs in steps, and a flat S$350 registration fee.

Last comes the COE, which cost S$123,847 for a Category A car in the second June 2026 bidding. Add it all up and a low-OMV car easily passes S$130,000 on the road, since the COE alone is close to that.

OMV: the import value Singapore Customs puts on the car, often about S$11,000 to S$20,000 for a budget car.
Excise duty: 20% of the OMV.
GST: 9% of the OMV plus the excise duty, so you pay GST on the duty as well.
ARF: a percentage of the OMV that climbs in steps from 100% to 320% (see the next section).
Registration fee: a flat S$350.
COE: the biggest single cost, set by bidding every fortnight.

How does the ARF reward you for buying a cheaper car?

The ARF rises in steps with the OMV, so it rewards a cheaper car more than any other tax. The pricier the car before tax, the harder it gets taxed.

For cars registered with COEs from February 2023 onwards, the steps are in the table below. Only the slice of OMV inside each band is taxed at that band's rate, the same way income tax brackets work.

A small car with a low OMV stays in the bottom 100% band, while a luxury car pushes up into the 250% and 320% bands. That's why an economy car with a S$20,000 OMV pays about S$20,000 in ARF, and a continental car with a S$100,000 OMV pays about S$200,000.

So a low OMV saves you more than the car price. It also means lower excise duty, lower GST and far lower ARF. Our ARF glossary entry has the full workings.

ARF tiers for cars (COEs from February 2023 onwards)
OMV band	ARF rate
First S$20,000	100%
S$20,001 to S$40,000	140%
S$40,001 to S$60,000	190%
S$60,001 to S$80,000	250%
Above S$80,000	320%

Why does the COE matter more than the car's price?

The COE is the part of the price that swings, so timing it matters more than haggling over the car.

A small car's OMV and taxes barely move from month to month. The COE can swing by S$20,000 or more within a few months, and that lands straight on your final price.

Cars come in two COE groups, Category A and Category B. A petrol or diesel car is Cat A if its engine is up to 1,600cc and its power is up to 97kW (about 130bhp). An electric car is Cat A with power up to 110kW. Anything above those limits is Category B.

Almost every cheap-car contender is built to fit Cat A, which is usually, but not always, the cheaper of the two car premiums. Some makers even turn down a car's power to sit just under the Cat A limit.

COE is bid twice a month, and the results are public. The table has the second June 2026 results so you can see the scale. Watch the trend over a few rounds rather than one number. Cat A premiums have swung between roughly S$90,000 and S$130,000 across 2025 and 2026.

COE premiums, second bidding of June 2026
Category	Covers	Premium
Cat A	Cars up to 1,600cc and 97kW, or EVs up to 110kW	S$123,847
Cat B	Cars over 1,600cc or 97kW (EVs over 110kW)	S$123,502
Cat C	Goods vehicles and buses	S$93,001
Cat D	Motorcycles	S$9,989
Cat E	Open (any vehicle except motorcycles)	S$129,002

The catch: is a guaranteed-COE deal really cheaper?

Not always. With a guaranteed COE, the dealer promises a fixed all-in price even if the premium they actually bid comes in higher.

That protects you from a spike. If COE falls below their guaranteed level, though, the dealer keeps the difference. What you're paying for is price certainty.

If you're confident COE is heading down, an open or bid-at-cost deal can work out cheaper. If you need a price you can count on, the guarantee is worth paying for. Either way, get the COE basis written into the sales agreement.

How do the EV rebates and running costs add up in 2026?

The cheapest new petrol cars still cost less to buy than the cheapest new EVs. Rebates narrow that gap, and EVs cost less to run.

The cheapest mass-market new EV here is the BYD Dolphin, at an all-in price in the S$150,000s in 2026. That's more than a Bezza upfront, but the running costs tell a different story.

Two rebates bring EV prices down. Under the Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES), a car in the cleanest band, Band A, gets a S$22,500 ARF rebate in 2026, and most new EVs qualify.

On top of that, the EV Early Adoption Incentive (EEAI) takes 45% off the ARF, up to S$7,500, for EVs registered in 2026. Stack the two and it's up to S$30,000 off. The EEAI is set to end on 31 December 2026, so a car registered after that gets less.

VES works the other way too. Petrol cars in the dirtier bands pay a surcharge in 2026: S$7,500 for Band C1, S$22,500 for Band C2 and S$35,000 for the new Band C3.

So a thirsty, older-design petrol car can quietly carry a five-figure surcharge. That's one more reason the cheapest cars tend to be small, efficient, recent designs in the neutral Band B or in Band A.

How much cheaper is an EV to run? At the typical public AC charging rate of about S$0.675 per kWh in 2026, an EV costs roughly S$0.10 to S$0.12 a kilometre. A petrol car costs about S$0.25 to S$0.31 at pump prices.

Over 15,000 km a year, that's about S$1,600 to S$1,700 in charging against S$4,000 to S$5,000 in petrol. On a normal commute you'd save a few thousand dollars a year. Charge at home on a cheaper night plan and the gap gets wider still.

EVs do pay a flat S$700 a year on top of their power-based road tax, which recovers some of the fuel duty they don't pay.

So work out your own yearly mileage before you assume the EV wins. If you only drive on weekends, the fuel saving is small. The petrol car's lower price can then stay ahead for years. If you commute 40 km a day, the EV's lower running costs start to pay back its higher price.

Our road tax guide shows how the EV figure is built. The car cost calculator lets you put your own mileage and price into the comparison.

What changed with the PARF rebate in 2026?

Budget 2026 cut the PARF rebate sharply, and that changes how much a new car gives back at the end.

When a car is deregistered, the owner can get a PARF rebate, a partial refund of the ARF paid, plus any unused COE value.

The cut covers cars registered with COEs from the second February 2026 COE bidding exercise onwards, the one that closed on 20 February 2026. For these cars the PARF rebate cap fell from S$60,000 to S$30,000, and the percentages dropped across the board.

Deregister a car at five years old or less and you now get 30% of the ARF back, down from 75%. Between nine and 10 years old, it's just 5%, down from 50%. After 10 years, there's still nothing.

Share of the ARF paid back at deregistration, before and after the February 2026 PARF cut

Share of the ARF paid back at deregistration, before and after the February 2026 PARF cut
Car's age when deregistered	Before the cut	After the cut
Up to 5 years old	75%	30%
9 to 10 years old	50%	5%

Source: LTA, revision of the PARF rebate schedule and cap, February 2026

So does the cut hurt a cheap car? Less than a pricey one. A cheap car paid less ARF to begin with, so it had less to lose.

A luxury car that used to bank a S$60,000 PARF rebate now tops out at S$30,000, a real drop in what it's worth at the end. A budget car that paid S$20,000 in ARF was never near the old cap, so the cut costs it less in dollars.

If you keep your car for the full 10-year COE instead of changing it every few years, the PARF change matters less to you either way.

How do you work out the true price before you sign?

Boil every quote down to one number: the on-the-road (OTR) price.

It covers the car, the COE, all the taxes and registration. It usually includes the first year of road tax and basic insurance too, but check exactly what's in it.

Then line the quotes up side by side. Ask each dealer for the OTR price, the COE basis (guaranteed or open), what is and isn't included, and the estimated monthly instalment on the loan they're assuming. Add your own running costs on top, so you compare what each car costs to keep as well as to buy.

How much can you borrow? If the car's OMV is S$20,000 or less, loan rules let you borrow up to 70% of the price, over at most 7 years. Above that OMV, the cap is 60%.

Say you buy a S$125,000 car and borrow the full 70%. That's an S$87,500 loan, plus S$37,500 you pay in cash upfront, a real hurdle 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.

Get the full OTR price in writing, with the COE basis stated.
Check what the OTR includes: road tax, insurance, accessories.
Check the loan cap: 60% or 70% of the price depending on OMV, for up to 7 years.
Add running costs: fuel or charging, insurance, servicing, parking, ERP and road tax.
Allow for the lower PARF rebate if you plan to sell before 10 years.

What's cheaper than a new car: used, a COE renewal or no car?

Even the cheapest new car is a six-figure decision, and three routes beat it on price. None is automatically better. Each trades upfront cost against risk and how many years of driving 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. The first owner has already taken the steepest depreciation, and the COE comes with the car.

You get less COE life and an older battery or engine. You also inherit whatever upkeep the last owner did or didn't do. Check the COE expiry date and how much PARF rebate is left, because both decide what the car is worth when you're done with it. Our guide to what drives the cost of a car in Singapore shows how age changes the sums.

COE renewal is the route people forget. When a car reaches its 10-year COE expiry, the owner can renew for another 5 or 10 years. They pay the Prevailing Quota Premium, the moving average of recent COE prices. There's no fresh ARF and no new car to buy.

On an old but sound small car, that can be the cheapest way to stay on the road. The catch is that a renewed car gets no PARF rebate when it's finally scrapped. The scrap, COE and PARF rebate guide walks through when renewing beats replacing.

Then there's not owning a car at all. For many young Singapore households, public transport plus the odd ride-hail and a car-sharing membership costs well under even the cheapest new car. We compare the two head to head in the car sharing versus owning guide.

Cheapest new car vs the alternatives (estimates, 2026)
Option	Typical upfront	Main trade-off
Cheapest new car	S$130,000+ OTR, ~S$40,000 cash down	Full price, full 10-year COE, full PARF eligibility
Used Cat A car (3 to 5 yrs)	Tens of thousands less	Less COE left, older car, 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

Real talk: what does the cheapest car cost you to keep?

A cheap price to buy isn't the same as a cheap car. Depreciation, the value a car loses over time, is the biggest cost of owning one.

Say you buy a S$125,000 car and keep it for its 10-year COE life, with a small PARF rebate at the end. You write off most of that S$125,000 over the decade. That alone is over S$10,000 a year before you turn the key.

A German shepherd sits in the driver's seat with both paws on the steering wheel and its tongue hanging out — Me, happily driving S$10,000 a year of depreciation home. via GIPHY

A small 1.0 to 1.3-litre car is cheap to run on top of that. Road tax is about S$400 to S$500 a year for the smallest engines. Fuel for an average commuter is around S$2,500 to S$4,000 a year.

Insurance runs about S$1,000 to S$1,500 a year, and servicing S$1,000 to S$2,000. Season parking and ERP add S$1,500 to S$3,000 a year in many estates and on CBD commutes.

Add it all up and even the cheapest car costs you S$15,000 a year or more once depreciation is in.

That's the figure to set against not owning a car at all. For many young working adults here, public transport, the odd taxi or ride-hail and a car-sharing membership cost well under it.

If you do buy, the cheapest sensible pick is a small, efficient, low-OMV Category A car, bought when COE is on a downswing and kept for the full 10 years. This week, add up a month of what you spend getting around and set it beside that S$15,000.

The MoneyBees take: what we'd check first

We'd check how many of your trips really need a car before comparing models.

Even the cheapest new car costs about S$130,000 to S$145,000 on the road, and a S$125,000 car at the 70% loan cap still needs S$37,500 in cash upfront. Keeping it costs S$15,000 a year or more once depreciation is in.

Public transport with the odd ride-hail and a car-sharing membership usually costs far less, and what it trades away is convenience.

What settles it is how many of your weekly trips only a car can do.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest new car in Singapore in 2026?

It's a small Category A car like the Perodua Bezza, Mitsubishi Attrage or Mitsubishi Space Star, at roughly S$130,000 to S$145,000 on the road as of mid-2026. The exact price moves with the COE, the biggest single cost. Ads from around S$89,999 are usually guaranteed-COE promotions, and the real all-in price at today's COE is higher.

Why are new cars so expensive in Singapore?

Most of the price goes on tax and the COE. On top of the import value (OMV), you pay 20% excise duty, 9% GST, a stepped ARF, a S$350 registration fee and the COE. The Cat A COE alone was S$123,847 in the second June 2026 bidding, often more than the car itself.

Is it cheaper to buy a petrol car or an EV?

The petrol car is cheaper to buy. The cheapest new petrol cars still cost less than the cheapest new EVs, even after EV rebates of up to S$30,000 off the ARF in 2026. EVs cost less to run per kilometre but pay a flat S$700 a year in extra road tax. If you don't drive much, the petrol car can work out cheaper for years.

How much COE do I need for the cheapest car?

Almost all budget cars are built to fit Category A (an engine up to 1,600cc and power up to 130bhp), so you need a Cat A COE. In the second June 2026 bidding it cost S$123,847. It's set by bidding every fortnight, so check the latest result before you commit.

What is the on-the-road (OTR) price?

It's the all-in price to drive a new car away. It covers the car, COE, excise duty, GST, ARF and registration, and usually the first year of road tax and basic insurance. Check exactly what each dealer includes, because it varies.

How much loan can I get for a cheap new car?

If the car's OMV is S$20,000 or less, you can borrow up to 70% of the price, for up to 7 years. Above that OMV, the cap is 60%. On a S$125,000 car at 70%, that's an S$87,500 loan and S$37,500 in cash upfront.

Does buying a cheaper car mean a smaller PARF rebate?

Yes, in dollars. Cheaper cars pay less ARF, so their PARF rebate is smaller, but they also had less to lose from the February 2026 cut. That cut lowered the cap from S$60,000 to S$30,000 and the percentages across the board, so pricier cars lost more.

Is it cheaper to buy a used car instead?

Usually, on the upfront cost. A three to five-year-old version of the same small Cat A model sells for tens of thousands less than new. The first owner took the steepest depreciation, and the COE comes with the car. The trade-offs are less COE life left, an older car and a smaller PARF rebate when you scrap it. Check the COE expiry date before you buy.

When is the best time to buy a new car in Singapore?

When COE is on a downswing, because the certificate is the biggest part of the price and the one that moves most. Cat A premiums have swung between roughly S$90,000 and S$130,000 across 2025 and 2026. So a few thousand dollars of timing can beat any discount you haggle on the car. Watch a few fortnightly results in a row, and check whether a quote uses a guaranteed or open COE.

How much cheaper is an EV to run than a petrol car?

At the typical 2026 public charging rate of about S$0.675 per kWh, an EV costs roughly S$0.10 to S$0.12 a kilometre. Petrol costs about S$0.25 to S$0.31. Over 15,000 km a year that saves you several thousand dollars, though the EV pays a flat S$700 road-tax surcharge each year. The saving only pays back the EV's higher price if you drive enough, so run your own numbers.

Sources

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This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.

Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).