Reader response Final
In the article, “Electric vehicles will take over Singapore”, Kuttan (2020) states that by 2040, Singapore targets to phase out internal combustion vehicles and move towards the wider adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). Kuttan mentions factors like lack of national charging infrastructure, high cost of EVs, the driving range and charging time is of concern. Despite the shortcomings, the Singapore government has set a goal of creating 28,000 charging points by 2030, with the assistance of private entities. Kuttan suggests methods to expedite EV adoption through measures like creating a separate Certification of Entitlement (COE) and having sufficient technical personnel with relevant skills to upkeep the ecosystem. Kuttan claims that Singapore is on the right track but the road to success requires the help of every individual. In my opinion, while Singapore has decided to adopt electric vehicles, the journey of adoption will be tough due to the low market demand of EVs, the high initial cost of EVs and the lack of charging infrastructure across Singapore.
Firstly, there is a low market demand for EVs due to the rising number
of batteries catching fire around the globe. One such occurrence happened to
the fleet of Hyundai Kona Electric. According to Valdes-Dapena (2020), Hyundai
announced that it had recalled about 75,000 of that model worldwide with 6,700
from the United States, after numerous incidents of vehicles catching fire
while parked. Safety and dependability have always been the top considerations
for consumers when buying a car but with the batteries’ issue in play,
consumers’ outlook of EVs will be affected.
Secondly, the initial cost of the vehicle stands at a heavy price
point. “A Hyundai Ioniq Electric currently costs upwards of S$150,000 here,
while the hybrid version of the Ioniq costs a little over S$100,000.”
(Abdullah, 2021). The price can easily increase by over 50 per cent just
because of its electric motor and battery. In fact, the battery is one of the
most expensive components in EVs. According to Goh (2021), the MG ZS Electric
currently has an OMV of S$31,749 and the battery itself accounts for almost a
third of its price. As such, the reason why batteries are so expensive is due
to the raw materials that go into making them. The materials used are usually
metals and they require tedious harvesting and processing before they can go
into the batteries.
Thirdly, there is a lack of charging infrastructures across
Singapore. There are currently only a total of 1,600 publicly accessible
chargers, far from the target of 28,000.
This is due to issues like lack of ample space to create an EV charging
lot and the accessibility to power. As mentioned by Teo (2020), the parking
lots have to be placed near an overground box or close proximity to the switch
rooms depending on their locations. The overall design of the car park plays a
role as well. It will be less cost-effective to convert existing car parks of
older designs as compared to newer developments such as public new
build-to-order flats.
Despite the drawbacks, EVs can be cost-efficient in the long run, bringing savings to owners. As the vehicle now runs from a battery source, there are far fewer moving parts in the vehicle, which means fewer parts to maintain. A Tesla Model S’s owner shared that he has not needed to change the brakes in five years due to the Model S’ regenerative braking system. (Siong & Neo, 2021). In addition, EVs can greatly reduce fuel costs. As illustrated by Khandelwal (2021), given that the standard 95-Octane petrol costs SGD 2.25 per litre and the annual mileage are 17,500km, refuelling the Corolla Altis (have an average of 15.4km per litre) will cost SGD 2,402 annually while the Nissan Leaf will cost SGD 5 per full charge and that adds up to a mere SGD 583.33.
In conclusion, the journey of adoption proves to be tough with factors such as the low market demand, high initial cost of EVs and the lack of charging infrastructures, hindering the progress. However, with appropriate solutions from the Singapore government, EVs will be a norm in the future to come.
References :
Abdullah, A.Z. (2021, 18 Feb). Obstacles remain in electric vehicle adoption
despite incentives, say transport experts and drivers. CNA.
Goh, Z.X. (2021, 28 Jan). Why are electric cars
so expensive in Singapore? Sgcarmart.com.
https://www.sgcarmart.com/news/writeup.php?AID=565
Kuttan, S.C. (2020, 23 Feb). Electric vehicles will take over Singapore.
But here’s what must happen first. CNA.
Khandelwal, P. (2021, 31 May). Will buying an
electric car save you money in the future? Yahoo!News.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/buying-electric-car-save-money-083700317.html
Siong,O & Neo,C.C. (2021, 19 June). Electric vehicles may be fast and
low-maintenance, but are they a real climate solution? CNA.
Teo, G. (2020, 11 March). 28,000 charging
stations for electric cars is possible - but where? Industry players weigh in.
CNA.
Valdes-Dapena, P. (2020, 10 Nov). Electric car
batteries are catching fire and that could be a big turnoff to buyers. CNN
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/11/10/success/electric-car-vehicle-battery-fires/index.html
Comments
Post a Comment