The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Economic Development Board (EDB) have announced the launch of a trial electric car sharing scheme. The agencies are co-leading the Electro-Mobility Singapore (EMS) taskforce.

The scheme will see the launch of a fleet of 1,000 electric cars together with implementation of a charging infrastructure. The trial would allow the Government to "gain a deeper understanding of the operating models and support required for EVs (Electric Vehicles) to succeed on a larger scale in Singapore".

The trial will give the authorities more insight on how to set up an optimal charging infrastructure to support EVs. This is similar to studying where best to build a petrol station to support cars running on petrol.

A market perception survey conducted by the taskforce has found that 86% of those who responded would not purchase an EV from the open market in the near future due to concerns on high purchase, price, limited technology, and limited charging infrastructure.

It makes little sense for anyone to buy an Electric Car today in Singapore

In a TODAY report (Dec.9, 2013), an EV like the Nissan Leaf would cost $200,000, while its petrol-equivalent Nissan Sylphy costs $110,000 based on prices in May.

It would be difficult to recover the $90,000 premium paid for an EV over a petrol car through petrol savings within 10 years - the length of the COE. Anyone thinking that they can save money in the long run would dispel that notion.

The inconvenience of having to constantly find a charging station is another deterrent - this however may be improved in the future with advances in technology.

Singapore's car population can, in fact, be all-hybrid right now

Cars are famously expensive in Singapore. Many people lament about how a 'piece of paper' that is the COE can cost upwards of $70,000. However, not many people bemoan the Additional Registration Fee (ARF).

ARF essentially doubles the retail price of cars sold in Singapore. As explained by this tax structure table from LTA:

So for a car which has an open market value of $75,000, the ARF that has to be paid is $107,000. This is before retailers add in their profit margins and also before the price of COE is calculated.

The point made here is that car prices are vastly inflated to control the car population - that's a good thing. But the government can be more creative in the way they control the make of the car as well.

COE/ARF rebates the way forward

To promote Singaporeans to switch to hybrid- or electric-powered vehicles, LTA can adjust the amount of ARF/COE rebates to match the lowest-priced petrol-powered car of the same engine capacity at the point of each COE bidding exercise.

This idea is of course not new.

To encourage the early replacement of old diesel commercial vehicles that cause more pollution, MEWR and MOT had implemented the Early Turnover Scheme last April. For instance, the COE bonus for light commercial diesel vehicles will be doubled from 10% to 20% of the remainder of the vehicle’s 20-year lifespan. For heavy commercial diesel vehicles, the COE bonus will be increased from 30% to the maximum 100%.

Sure, there will be lesser tax revenue from car sales and petrol sales, and car retailers not stocking hybrid cars are going to cry foul, but how big of a price tag would you want to put on Singapore's environment and the air that Singaporeans breathe?

And if the day comes where electric cars become a viable alternative, the authorities should make it easier for car-buying Singaporeans to adopt them and not give them a financial penalty for thinking green.

Top photo from here.

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