READER RESPONSE DRAFT #2
In the article “Electric vehicles will take over Singapore. But here’s what must happen first”, Kuttan.S (2020) discussed how Singapore faced challenges to make the switch to electric vehicles in Singapore. As Singapore aims to follow the other 20 plus cities in the world in electrifying their private and public transport system, Singapore set a goal of eliminating all internal combustion engine vehicles by 2040 as part of the sustainability plan to reduce carbon footprints and road congestion in Singapore. Kuttan (2020) emphasized the importance of strategic location planning of the car chargers, having new business models and upgrading the consumer’s experience to entice Singaporeans to start buying EVs. I believe the few factors that are causing doubts among Singaporeans to owning an EV quickly is the availability of car chargers island wide and the conservative mindset of the Singaporeans
Firstly, the availability of car chargers around the island is not sufficient with numbers ranging from 1000 electric cars to 1800 charging stations. Although the numbers might seem proportionate, the locations of these charging points are not necessarily widespread as we can still see an absence of these charging points in older shopping centers and neighborhoods. Thus, EV users need to travel further away from their homes just to charge their vehicles which will make it less user-friendly.
Secondly, the mindset of Singaporeans is too conservative regarding the charging of the EV compared to refueling at the petrol kiosk. In order to make charging EV friendly for all users, the Singaporean mindset needs to evolve. In the article, ”Singapore isn’t ready for mass adoption of EVs yet; hybrid may be better for the present'', Abudheen(2021) states that in order to use an EV efficiently, users should not use the EV to its lowest battery and also reduce overnight charging unless deemed necessary to reduce hogging of the charging points. With this, the shift from what seemed like a 15-mins task has turned into a few hours of charging would require a change in the lifestyle of the EV user which deters Singaporeans
However, not all seem bad for EV adoption. According to the article,” Buying An Electric Car In Singapore: A Complete Guide”, Chan(2021) convinces readers on how cost-efficient it is to make the jump to EVs from normal combustion vehicles. He states that although the initial cost of an EV might cost similar to an ordinary combustion engine vehicle, using an EV would save at least a few thousand in the long run. One example was his comparison between the Hyundai Ioniq (EV) and the Hyundai Avante. The approximate savings was close to about $2000 per year for fuel/electric. Furthermore, he also adds on how the government is rolling out rebates for early changeover to EVs that could roughly amount to about $35000 of savings. He added that these rebates have enticed Singaporeans to not only make the jump but also make it accessible for middle-class families. In the article “Electric vehicle sales accelerate further in Singapore as carrot-stick measure sinks in “, Tan.C (2021) states the number of electric vehicles increased to about 36% in one year since Singapore started giving rebates and incentives for early EV adoption. This proves that the government’s contribution to help with the early adoption of the EV is effective which similarly can be seen from Norway's lead.
In conclusion, the limitations of switching to an EV are quite drastic as it requires a lifestyle change. However, with the help of government policies, changing to an EV has become more bearable and I feel will be more practical in the future.
References
Kuttan.S ,(2020,23 Feb). Commentary: Electric vehicles will take over Singapore. But here’s what must happen first. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/singapore-budget-2020-electric-vehicles-ice-ves-hybrid-car-2040-1338746 Channelnewsasia
Chan.A ,(2021,21 April). Buying an electric car in Singapore : A complete guide https://www.singsaver.com.sg/blog/guide-to-buy-an-electric-car-singapore
Abudheen.S, (2021,8 Feb) Singapore isn't ready for mass adoption of EVs yet hybrid may better for the present https://e27.co/singapore-isnt-ready-for-mass-adoption-of-evs-yet-hybrid-may-be-better-for-the-present-20210208/
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