Why electric car is not popular in Singapore
Cost Of Owning An Electric Car In Singapore 2024
Here comes the real thing calculating the total cost of owning an electric car. However it differs from EV to EV, depending on the model of the car, the age of the car, and many other factors like NCD and so on.
Lets just say you decide to purchase a more affordable model by Honda and itll already cost you about $185,000 (including COE) at the beginning. Besides the cost of the vehicle, youll have to factor in the following costs:
- Car insurance In the first year of owning an EV, the car insurance is likely to cost over $1,000. Thereafter, itll usually range between $2,000 to $5,000 depending on the model and make of your EV and your NCD status.
- Road tax Itll come up to about $800 a year for a 60kWh full electric car. However, road tax will be reduced for electric cars in the next 3 years.
- COE Currently, it is hovering around $80,000 (Cat A) and $100,000 (Cat B) as of August 2022, and itll last you for a good ten years if you are buying a brand new car.
- Additional Registration Fee (ARF) Paid when you register a vehicle, and currently, a rebate of 45% (capped at $20,000) is possible. Usually >50% of your cars Open Market Value for cars under 10 years old after offsetting with the PARF rebate that you receive when the car is eventually deregistered.
- Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES) rebate Subtract $10,000 to $20,000 from your costs if you qualify for this.
- Excise duty It has been adjusted and will range from $100 to $350 ($350 will start from 2023 onwards).
- Charging fees It can range from $300 to $400 per month (if need about 2 to 3 times of full charging sessions per week).
So if we do the math, the calculation will be as follow:
$250,000 (COE included) + $6,200 + $800 + $192,241 - $10,000 + $100 + $300- $20,000= $419,641
The total cost to own an EV will be about $419,641, assuming that we subtract the lowest rebate youll get from the VES scheme and the maximum rebate youll get for the ARF (using the price of the Honda car as of August 2022 as an example).
BYD Dolphin review: Whats Singapore's most affordable EV like?
BYD Dolphin review: Whats Singapore's most affordable EV like?
Note: This feature was first published on 7 August 2023.
BYDs Dolphin is one of the most exciting new cars to reach our shores this year, not because of its performance or looks, but because of its price. At S$159,888, it is (at the time of writing) the most affordable EV you can buy right now. So what is a BYD Dolphin? And what does it give up to get to that price? Read on to find out.
The TD;LR version:Range issues aside, its hard to argue against the Dolphins blend of features, practicality, and price. If you are considering or ready to commit to an EV, this is not a bad place to start.
The Dolphin is currently the most compact BYD you can get here. Its a small hatchback that takes up about the same space as a Honda Jazz, or somewhere between the size of a Volkswagen Polo and Golf. And yet, its based on the same platform as the larger Atto 3. And that means it gets EV modernities like an 800-volt architecture for faster charging and BYDs Blade batteries that are supposedly smaller, lighter, safer, and friendlier to the environment.
The styling is quite generic and therefore inoffensive. Though, to my eyes, theres a whiff of Toyota GR86 about the front bumper. There are angles and creases particularly on the sides that give it a more aggressive vibe than its innocuous-sounding name might suggest. Certainly, the available colours are quite interesting and uncommon: Sand White, Maldive Purple, Coral Pink, and Urban Grey. The test car is Maldive Purple, which, to my eyes, is lilac.
Though its billed as a hatchback, the first thing youd probably notice about the Dolphin when you get into it for the first time is how high you sit. The sitting position is almost SUV-like. While it gives you a more commanding view of the road ahead, it does also make the Dolphin somewhat less engaging to drive (more on that later).
The interior is functional but unusual in some ways. The aircon vents, though as stylish as they may be, look more at home in an 800hp supercar. And even though theres a surprising amount of space to tuck your phone away, none of them are actually wireless charging pads. But whats most perplexing to me are the cupholders. Though there are ostensibly two of them, they actually overlap, so you can only really place one drink in time at a time. If you have a passenger with you on long rides, one of you is going to be thirsty. But crucially, it doesnt look nor feel like BYD has cheaped out on the cabin (at least not too much).
Like the Atto 3, the Dolphin also has a tiny 5-inch instrument cluster, which can be hard to see at times. Also, the Dolphins main 12.8-inch infotainment display rotates so it can be read in either portrait or landscape orientation. I reckon this can be handy for navigation since it lets you see more of whats ahead. And by the time you are reading this review, BYD should have updated its cars to support both wireless Android Auto and wired Apple CarPlay.
Despite its lower price, the Dolphin retains many of the safety features of the Atto 3. This includes adaptive cruise control a feature more commonly found on much pricier cars and other niceties such as lane departure warning, collision warning, automatic emergency warning, 360 cameras, and more. It even has ventilated front seats! Space is also not an issue in the back. Theres ample head and legroom, even for adults that are of slightly above-average height. I won't call the boot cavernous but it's certainly big enough even for road trips.
Some of you might pore over the Dolphins spec sheet and think that because its a hatchback and its electric, it should be a feisty little thing to drive. They might imagine it to be a little pocket rocket. But its not. As I said earlier, the sitting position is high, so you feel detached from the road. It also accentuates body roll and pitching movements, which discourages you from pushing on. The upside, however, is that combined with its soft damping, you are cosseted from the imperfections of the road. The ride is remarkably plush.
Furthermore, the electric motor appears to have a more benign state of tune that prioritises smooth power delivery over instantaneous dollops of torque. Smash the accelerator at the lights and wheelspin never comes. Instead, the Dolphin delivers its 70kW (94hp) and 180nm of torque gently at first and ramps up in the same manner a very linear naturally-aspirated motor might. And when you couple this calm power delivery with its fairly plush ride, and relatively well-insulated cabin, what you have is a car that is very well-suited for pottering around in the city.
As for range, it took 250km for me to drain its battery from a full charge down to 20%. By my calculations, given that it has a rather small 44.9kWh battery, that means its average power consumption would be around 15kWh/100km. This in turn means youd probably get around 300km before its battery goes completely flat. Admittedly, that means the Dolphin cant cover much ground, but thats mostly because its battery is small. Its available with a 60kWh battery in other markets, and if we had that version instead, we could probably get around 400km range on a full charge. Fortunately, 60kW charging is supported so we can get from 20% to 80% in a fairly brisk 30 minutes that should get about 180km of range.
But then, issues with range and charging times are a given if you wish to jump on the EV bandwagon at this moment particularly if you dont have exclusive access to a charging point so it's unlikely its slightly disappointing range is going to put off any potential buyers. Besides, it makes up for it in other ways. The level of equipment and features is exceptionalfor its price point, and it's hard to argue against its practicality. Overall, its simply a pleasant car to drive around in the city.If you are ready for the electric revolution, the Dolphin is a sensible place to start.
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Pricing and availability
The BYD Dolphin is available now at a special promo price of S$159,888.
Note: Prices are correct at the time of publishing.
Read next:
The Straits Times
According to the LTA figures, 1,462 electric cars were registered in the first five months of 2023, accounting for 13.4 per cent of total registrations up slightly from 11.7 per cent in 2022.
There were 7,961 electric cars on the road as at end-May, accounting for just 1.2 per cent of the total car population.
For the first time, LTA had itemised parallel import registrations. Parallel imports are vehicles sold by non-authorised retailers, who source their cars from dealers in overseas markets.
In the first five months of 2023, parallel imports accounted for 21.7 per cent of car registrations, holding steady from 20.6 per cent in 2022. Their share of Toyota sales grew, while their share of Mercedes-Benz sales fell.
Parallel importers, however, have a far weaker hold of the EV market, with only a 1.6 per cent share compared with 17.1 per cent by authorised agents.
Mr Neo Nam Heng, chairman of diversified motor group Prime, said there were three main reasons for this.
One, the Japanese domestic models, which parallel importers target, have a different charging system. Two, many of the manufacturers are not able to provide total power output figures required by the authorities here. And three, a lack of back-up technical service, he said.
Most of the European EVs come with periodic software updates, which are done over the air. These updates are not available to most parallel imported cars.
The Straits Times
SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) - Singapore made a great push for electric vehicle (EV) adoption this year, with the Government unveiling several schemes to encourage consumers to make the switch.
It will set aside $30 million over the next five years for EV-related initiatives, such as measures to improve charging provision at private premises.
There are also plans to deploy 60,000 charging points at public carparks and private premises by 2030 - a more ambitious target from 28,000 previously.
As the year comes to a close, The Business Times recaps the key developments in the EV sector that Singapore saw this year.
Tesla comes to Singapore
The US car manufacturer delivered its first cars to customers here in July, and its most basic Model 3, which costs nearly $200,000 in Singapore, immediately became the country's top-selling sedan by September.
Data from the Land Transport Authority showed the number of new Teslas on Singapore roads rising more than tenfold to 487 by the third quarter, from just 30 in the first half of the year.
The electric car maker also set up its first three "supercharger" charging points in Orchard Central, making it the supercharger's debut in South-east Asia. It has since installed charging points at two other malls - Katong V and Millenia Walk - with plans to set up more in the future.
