Word has it, courtesy of burnpavement.com, that the electric Renault Twizy has arrived in Singapore.

However, the local Renault distributor, Wearnes Automotive, cannot launch it.

This is because the Land Transport Authority does not know what category to classify this sort of vehicle as.

For the uninitiated, the Twizy is the premature love-child of a car and a motorcycle, if vehicles had offspring.

Weighing in at only 474kg, the Twizy — which doesn't have air-conditioning — is principally a motorcycle with four wheels and a steering wheel.

As such, the LTA cannot put it together in the same league as motorcycles.

Why? It's because under current legislation, a bike in Singapore cannot have more than three wheels, and its rider must straddle it.

The benefits of the Twizy are obvious though: They are fully electric, takes 3.5 hours to charge fully, has a range of 100km per charge, can sit two people and is relatively swift with a top speed of 80km/h.

And three Twizys can fit into one regular-sized parking space.

The downside is that if LTA classifies it as a motorcycle, then it will probably cost about S$20,000 to S$30,000 with COE.

This might push up the prices of motorcycle COEs.

If it is classified as a Category A car, the Twizy will cost between S$90,000 to S$100,000.

Which will defeat the purpose of having such a puny, space-saving vehicle on Singapore's crowded roads.

As mentioned before, this means that people who address one another formally in parliament will have to table some motions to change the rules.

Only then will the Twizy get a COE category for itself.

And that, to our minds, is the only solution.

Related article:

Renault Twizy hybrid car-bike can cost $30,000 or $100,000, depending on how S’pore authorities classify it

Top photo from www.sgcarmart.com

If you like what you read, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest updates.