Summary/Reader Response Draft #4: 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. In my opinion, 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 engine vehicles 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 “The scheme, which will be available until Dec 31, 2023, gives buyers of fully electric cars and taxis a rebate of up to 45 per cent on their additional registration fees”. This rebate was offered to reduce the initial cost of owning an electric car, “which cost about 78 per cent more than an equivalent internal combustion engine car in 2020”. (Kok,2022)

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 engine vehicles 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. Channel News Asia

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.

 

Kok, Y. (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

 

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/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Self-Introduction Draft

  Subject: Self-Introduction Dear Professor Brad, My name is Muhammad Zulfadhli and I am a year 1 student studying civil engineering in Singapore Institute of Technology. I am a student in your effective communication class. I was from Temasek Polytechnic and graduated in 2019 with a diploma in mechatronics.     When it comes to hobbies, I enjoy spending my time outside with the people close to me such as my friends and family. I don’t necessarily need something to do to enjoy myself. What I love to do most is relaxing by the beach at night with my friends and have dinner while we chat until midnight. It is also a way of clearing my mind after a long week of juggling between work and school.   One weakness that I possess is that I am not able to convey my message smoothly and clearly whenever I present to an audience. Even after preparing and having all the information for a certain presentation I will tend to take pauses in between to process what I want...
Read more

Critical Reflection

At the start of the module, I mentioned in my self-introduction letter that I was weak when it comes to presenting smoothly and confidently in front of an audience. I would often stutter and lose my train of thought. During my oral presentation for this effective communication module, feedback was given from my peers. I was elated to see that the audience found my presentation clear and that I appeared confident. I practiced numerous times before the presentation with my group members to fully understand the material that I will present which also makes it easier to remember and stay on point. I also prepared a full script to refer to when I was practicing which helped me seem natural when presenting and not lose track. These preparation methods have helped me drastically for my presentation. Constructive criticism was also given such as staring at the slides for too long and not maintaining eye contact with the audience. This is another weakness that I noticed I have through the few t...
Read more