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OCBC Bank and the National University of Singapore (NUS) will embark on a study to understand what can effectively nudge Singaporeans to switch to the use of electric vehicles (EV).

Study what makes drivers switch to electric vehicles

According to their press release, this is the nation's largest dedicated study on this matter, involving 32,000 OCBC Bank customers and spanning across three months.

These study participants will be selected based on the likelihood of them replacing their cars in the coming years.

The study will uncover what are the effective push factors that drive people to make the switch to EVs.

Concerns over costs of EV ownership in Singapore and environmentally consciousness of car users are possible reasons that influence consumers' decision on the use of an EV.

But to what extent? This is what the study is supposed to find out through the inputs from the anonymised data of these 32,000 customers. Some data points include transit spending, fuel purchases on OCBC cards and EV transition rate.

The NUS research team involved in this study is led by Alberto Salvo, an Associate Professor from the Department of Economics at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

The team comprises environmental and behavioural economists as well as an expert on the U.S. and Chinese EV markets from Cornell University, the press release revealed.

At the end of the study, a research paper will be released in the second quarter of 2023.

What's the point of this study?

The findings of this study will help businesses and companies to encourage their customers to adopt EVs and other green practices.

This study is also conducted in support of Singapore's push to electrify its vehicle population by phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.

New registrations of diesel cars and taxis will cease from 2025, according to the Singapore Green Plan.

The government is also increasing the EV charging points nationwide as more people switch to driving EVs.

OCBC Bank also shared that they have observed an increase in the take-up rate of its enhanced electric vehicle loan or the OCBC ‘Eco-Care’ car loan. The loan applications have more than doubled since its launch in March 2021.

This indicates a surge in demand and interest in EVs, and the bank believes the trend is likely to continue as it expects even more people to be interested in its electric vehicle loan.

The study will help the bank refine their green products to make it more attractive to customers, the press release added.

Top image via Land Transport Authority/Facebook