Summary/Reader Response Draft #3: Electric vehicles in Singapore (a)

 

The article “Electric vehicles will take over Singapore. But here’s what must happen first” 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.

There is a vast difference in maintaining an electric vehicle compared to the traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. Based off Kia’s official web page (n.d.), electric vehicles have an uncomplicated mechanical design and 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.

With the improvisation of technology, modern electric vehicles are said to perform better than traditional petrol and diesel vehicles. Based off Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s official web page (n.d.), it mentioned that electric vehicles run smoothly. They are automatic transmission. Therefore, when the user presses on the accelerator, the speed increases steadily without jolting the user 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.

Aside from the mechanical benefits of owning an electric car, there are also monetary benefits that potential buyers can gain. An article by Kok (2022), 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 Newmotion’s official website (n.d.), 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. CNA

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/commentary/singapore-budget-2020-electric-vehicles-ice-ves-hybrid-car-2040-1338746

Kia Corporation (n.d.). Are electric cars cheaper to maintain?

https://www.kia.com/sg/discover-kia/ask/are-electric-cars-cheaper-to-maintain.html#:~:text=Unlike%20internal%20combustion%20engine%20vehicles,they%20have%20fewer%20moving%20parts.&text=No%20oil%20to%20change%2C%20no%20gaskets%20to%20replace%2C%20no%20valves,engines%2C%20so%20these%20costs%20disappear.

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. The Straits Times

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/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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