Electric Vehicles in Singapore

Mr Hri Kumar Nair asked the Minister for Transport whether the Ministry has plans to promote the use of electric vehicles in Singapore.

LTA has been monitoring the state of electric vehicle (EV) technology and the costs of EVs as compared to conventional vehicles. EVs can be cleaner and more energy efficient than the typical internal combustion engine car. However, an EV's upfront costs are significantly higher. Even under the enhanced Transport Technology Innovation Development Scheme (TIDES-PLUS), where vehicular taxes are waived, the life cycle cost of an EV in Singapore would likely still be higher as compared to conventional vehicles paying full taxes.

Nevertheless, with improved battery technology and economies of scale, EVs could become cheaper over time. We have already started to try out EVs on a limited scale conducted by the multi-agency Electric Vehicle Taskforce (EVTF) co-chaired by EMA and LTA. The EV test-bed is slated to end on 31 December 2013, and will provide additional data for us to formulate our policies and infrastructure plans.