Summary/Reader Response Draft #1: Electric vehicles in Singapore (a)
The article by Kuttan (2020) describes Singapore’s
ambitions for a greener country, issues that may be faced and possible
solutions to these problems. He mentioned that Singapore has set a goal to
retire internal combustion engine vehicles for 2040 and to make way for
electric vehicles (EVs). Rewards have been put out to attract more people to
switch to electric vehicles. However, he pointed out that there are challenges
like meeting the demand for EVs in Singapore. Besides this, ensuring sufficient
charging points would also be an issue in the future. Authorities have planned
to work with private organisations to tackle this problem.
Surplus of vehicles in Singapore leaves behind a large
carbon footprint. Therefore, he pointed out that this plan to electrify the
public transport system is to reduce our carbon output. All in all, Singapore
has set up multiple policies and incentives to achieve this goal of a greener
country. Singapore has also invested a large sum of money for this change and
recognizes that it is needed for the fight against climate change.
In my opinion, the usage of electric
vehicles has advantages over traditional internal combustion engines such as
lower maintenance, better performance and incentives are given to those who
decide to adopt EVs despite having issues such as short battery life.
Based off an
article from Kia’s official page, the author stated that compared to
traditional internal combustion engines, the uncomplicated design of an
electric vehicle has fewer moving parts which leads to lesser wear and tear.
Therefore, noticeably lesser maintenance is needed. Maintenance cost can be
hefty for internal combustion engine cars, especially if the car is old.
It is said that
electric vehicles perform better compared to internal combustion engines. In an
article from Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), the publisher
mentioned that electric vehicles run smoothly. They are automatic transmission therefore,
when you press on the accelerator, the speed increases steadily without jolting
you around. Electric vehicles are also relatively new to the market. As
indicated in the article, it is common for electric vehicles to be equipped
with the latest form of technology such as cruise control and heated seats.
An article by
Kok (2022), published in The Straits Times, reveals the incentives given to
newly EV owners last year. The incentives given amounted to $30 million in 2021
to encourage citizens to switch to electric vehicles. He stated that this
benefit will continue until late 2023, offering buyers of up to 45 per cent
rebate. This rebate was offered to reduce the initial cost of owning an
electric car, which was 78 per cent more than a traditional internal combustion
engine vehicle in 2020.
Even with all
these good pointers being mentioned, it is also important to realise that an
electric vehicle’s battery life can be a downside of owning an electric
vehicle. Based on an article published on newmotion, a member of the Shell
Group, it states that the average driving range of a fully electric car is about
181 miles which is significantly lower than the average internal combustion
engine car. Higher-end electric cars provide better driving range but is also
very expensive. Therefore, some people don’t find the switch to electric
vehicles to be very practical as of now.
To sum things
up, the change to electric vehicles has its benefits over traditional internal
combustion engines such as lower maintenance, better performance and incentives
will be given to those who decide to adopt EVs although, it has some drawbacks
such as having short battery life.
References:
Kuttan, S. (2020, Feb 23). Electric
vehicles will take over Singapore. But here’s what must happen first
Kia Corporation (n.d.). Are electric
cars cheaper to maintain?
Sustainable Energy Authority of
Ireland (n.d.). When it comes to electric vehicles: driving is believing.
https://www.seai.ie/technologies/electric-vehicles/why-drive-electric/performance/
Yufeng, K. (2022, January 10). $30 million in
rebates given out last year under EV early adoption incentive scheme
Newmotion (n.d.). The Electric
Range of an EV
https://newmotion.com/en/knowledge-center/news-and-updates/the-electric-range-of-an-ev
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