READER RESPONSE DRAFT #3

 

In the article “Electric vehicles will take over Singapore. But here’s what must happen first”, (Kuttan ,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 own an EV quickly is the availability of car chargers island wide and the attitude of the Singaporeans towards EVs  

Firstly, the availability of car chargers around the island is not sufficient. Currently with around 1800 charging stations serving 1000 EVs in Singapore, the numbers seemed proportionate. However, the locations of these charging points are not necessarily widespread as we can still see an absence of these charging points in older shopping centres and neighbourhoods. Thus, EV users need to travel further away from their homes just to charge their vehicles which makes it less user-friendly.  

Secondly, another factor causing doubts in Singaporeans is the attitude of the Singaporeans towards the time taken to charge an EV compared to refuelling a combustion vehicle 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 reduce overnight charging unless deemed necessary to reduce hogging of the charging points. With this, the shift from what seemed like a 5-mins task has turned into at least an hour of charging would require a change in the lifestyle of an EV user thus deterring Singaporeans from making the switch.   

However, there are also a number of good reasons to adopt EVs. 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 ,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 shows that the government’s contribution to help with the early adoption of the EV is effective which similarly can be seen from Norway's success with EVs.    

In conclusion, the limitations of switching to an EV are quite drastic as it requires a lifestyle change such as planning time out to charge the vehicle. However, with the help of government policies, changing to an EV has become more bearable will be more practical in the future. 

 

References

 

Kuttan,S. (2020,23 February). Commentary: Electric vehicles will take over Singapore. But here’s what must happen first. Channel News Asia. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/singapore-budget-2020-electric-vehicles-ice-ves-hybrid-car-2040-1338746 

 

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 February) 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/

 

Teo,G. (2020,11 March) 28,000 charging stations for electric cars is possible - but where? Industry players weigh in.  Channel News Asia. https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/electric-vehicles-budget-2020-charging-points-energy-770251

 

Tan,C. (2021,13 August) Electric vehicle sales accelerate further in Singapore as carrot-stick measures sink in. Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/transport/electric-vehicle-sales-accelerate-further-in-singapore-as-carrot-stick-measures