Your complete guide to buying electric cars in Singapore

When DPM Heng Swee Kiat made the announcement that Singapore will be phasing out all vehicles running on internal combustion engines (ICE) by 2040, it was a bold move that would go a long way in addressing global warming. He admitted that the journey to a greener future is not going to be easy. In Singapore, most of the 600,000 vehicles use ICE. Despite this, the benefits of using hybrid and fully electric vehicles are known. So, if you want to become part of this noble course, what is the best route? This post is a comprehensive guide to buying electric cars in Singapore.

Common Electric Car Models in Singapore

To get you started, here are some of the common electric car models that you can get in the Singapore market. Here are some particulars of a few of them.

As you can see, electric cars are never cheap. The lowest you are likely to get on the market today is about $100,000, but there are high-end models that will gallop close to a million bucks. However, the high cost could easily drive people back to ICE models.

Make sure to note the range, which is the distance that the vehicle can travel when fully charged. Again, you need to establish their power consumption. If you are looking forward to making short city travels, you will get more flexibility.

Rebates to Expect for Buying Electric Cars in Singapore

If you want to buy an electric car in Singapore, there are two main types of rebates to anticipate:

• Early adopter rebate: This rebate is offered until the end of December 2021, where electric car owners will only have to pay 45% of the needed registration fee. The maximum for this is $20,000.

• Early adopter rebate: This rebate is starting 2022 to the close of 2023 and targets to cut down Additional Registration Fee (ARF) to a minimum of $5,000 and $0.

• Vehicle emission scheme: Depending on the nature of the vehicle, you need you can get a rebate of between $25,000* or $15,000*.

In addition to these rebates, road taxes will also be slashed down for electric vehicles. This implies that since your car will no longer be burning fossil fuels, the Singapore government will no longer need to charge tax on petroleum companies. This is why you will need to be charged directly, but you can rest easy because the overall amount will still be way below what is taxed today.

The usual PARF, as well as COE rebates, will apply after deregistering your electric car.

Switching to an Electric Car: How Much Money can You Save?

The main benefit of switching to an electric car is saving money on energy, but how much? Here are some estimates:

To make calculations clearer, we are going to hold some assumptions:

(i)The average annual distance covered is 17,500 kilometers.

(ii)The price of petro (cost per liter): $2.00.

(iii)The energy tariff rate in Singapore: 22.21 cents/kWh.

(iv)Car Model: Hyundai Ioniq Electric

With a Hyundai Ioniq Electric with energy consumption of 11.7 kWh/100km, the average cost will be $454.75, which implies that you will be making savings of $1,890.25. This means that you will have saved thousands of dollars by the close of the year.

Another area of savings will be in car maintenance. Since you will be using electric energy, which is cleaner than petrol, the cost of maintenance will also come down significantly. Because there are no volatile reactions, you can expect less wearing and tearing of your vehicle.

What about Charging Your Electric Car?

There are so many benefits of driving away in an electric car. Therefore, one would expect that a lot of people would be in the line waiting for the big shift. Sadly, it is not the case. One of the key stumbling blocks is that the charging stations are not yet established, but their numbers are being increased. By 2030, the Singapore administration is targeting 60,000 charging stations, which will be a huge increase from the current 1,600. Even the available `1,600 can only charge one car at a time.

Another obstacle is that most of the chargers run on AC only. However, there are others, such as Shell, with more advanced charging stations with up to 50Kw DC fast chargers that can fill your car to 80% in 30 minutes. Other filling stations, such as Caltex, have also indicated they will install fast chargers. Here are some of the common public charging stations in Singapore.

Other companies with charging stations include BYD, Caltex and Greenlots. All of these are public charging stations, but you can also install yours. Just check the cost of installing a charging station in your home, and this could help to cut the cost with a huge margin.

How Does Buying an Electric Car Differ from an ICE Car?

The truth is that there is not much difference. You hop into a car dealer, select the preferred car, pay, and you drive away. It is the same way you would buy a gas-powered car. If you do not have enough savings, and many people rarely do, one of the alternatives is taking a car loan in Singapore.

Car loans or car financing means that you take a loan, get the car of choice, and drive away as you repay in instalments. This implies you enjoy the car of choice and repay slowly to avoid putting a lot of strain on your finances. Remember that applying for a loan for a car can be tricky because there are so many lenders with different terms and conditions. This is why you should always apply for loans through Lendela. We not only simplify the loan application process but further ensure you get the best terms and conditions and do not fall into the hands of loan sharks.

Singapore and, indeed, the entire world are determined to make the big shift to help counter the monster of global warming. With the focus directed at reducing gas-powered cars on the road, you should also get ready for the big shift. Therefore, are you ready? If you do not have enough cash, consider applying for a loan through Lendela. We help you compare personal loan offers from multiple banks and financial institutions in Singapore. A personal loan works perfectly for a car purchase.