Which car to buy in SG?

Vedant Sachin Kanthale

As consumers become more aware of the impact their choices have on the climate, increasing number of people are choosing to shift from using petrol/diesel powered cars for brevity p/dpc, to non-pollutive cars. These cars can either be electric vehicles (EV) or hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). At the same time, p/dpc cars also have to meet increasingly stringent Euro standards that dictate the amount of greenhouse gas emissions a car can produce. Cars sold in Singapore comply with the Euro standard with the latest p/dpc cars sold required to meet Euro 6. The emissions seen from Euro 6 guidelines are quite low with vehicles complying with them falling in the second highest band of a2 in the Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES). This means that buying these cars gave the owners a sizeable rebate.

With Singapore seeing the entry of EV’s since 2020, consumers are stuck with the decision to either be more ethical and buy an EV or wait some more and stick to p/dpc. The reason for sticking with the p/dpc would be because, surprisingly, they emit lesser greenhouse gases than an EV. An EV owner would have to drive 60440 km before they would be doing less harm to the environment than a p/dpc. This is because of the extraction and processing of minerals in EV batteries and production of the power cells. The average Singapore car owner drives 17500 km a year so they would still manage to do some good for the environment however not as much as they would have expected. Furthermore, another limitation of having an EV in Singapore is the limited amount of charging points. There are currently only 1600 charging points here with plans to have 60000 by 2030. The current number of charging points largely comprise of BlueSG’s own network so the number of charging points for all EV’s is far lower. There also lies the problem of the charging speed. Some chargers can charge the vehicles very quickly however most chargers can only charge the vehicle overnight. This is a major downside for potential buyers who require a quick charge in the day. Besides charging timings, there is another issue present in EV’s which is that of battery degradation. Much like a phone battery, the EV’s battery would overtime have a lower total energy capacity and consequently the time between charges would increase. This is a major downside compared to p/dpc since their engines don’t degrade and therefore don’t degrade while the EV’s battery could potentially have to be replaced.

The next type of green vehicle is the FCEV. Currently there are no FCEV’s in Singapore so those waiting to buy one would have to play the waiting game. When looking at FCEV’s alongside EV’s, the stats don’t look to promising. The major downside FCEV’s face is their efficiency. Currently EV’s have an efficiency of 77% with this figure expected to rise to 81% by 2050 while FCEV’s have an efficiency of 33% with the figure expected to be at 42% by 2050. While there is a rise, it isn’t sufficient to meet the efficiency of EV’s. This downside is further compounded by the higher cost of liquid hydrogen compared to electricity for powering the car. Thus, the chances of a FCEV arriving in Singapore are extremely slim and those playing the waiting game would have to play a long one.

In conclusion, buying an EV now would not be the wisest choice considering the low number of charging points available in Singapore and the inconvenience they would pose. The average cost of an EV in Singapore is also 30% higher than its p/dpc counterparts with the most popular EV from Tesla coming close to $200,000 so even with the VES the price would be significantly higher. As all the major automotive companies turn to EV’s as their future, the innovation in battery technology is only set to increase and with that, its range. These companies focusing on EV’s also means that there will be more EV’s coming in the near future so as supply increases, the EV’s cost will decrease. Thus those owning a p/dpc should continue holding on to it while those without one could wait a little while longer, let the EV market further develop and then make their purchase.

References

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