Electric cars in Singapore, what actually changes when you switch

Singapore is moving toward cleaner vehicles through the 2030s, and electric cars have gone from a curiosity to a normal sight in a few years. If you are considering one, most of the advice available is either manufacturer marketing or someone defending a purchase they already made.

Here is what actually changes, including the parts that are less convenient.

Running cost is where the case is strongest

An electric car has no oil to change, no filters, no spark plugs, no timing belt, no exhaust and no gearbox in the conventional sense. Servicing is largely tyres, brake fluid, cabin filter and a software check.

Brakes also last considerably longer, because regenerative braking does most of the slowing and the friction brakes are used far less than in a petrol car.

Energy costs less than fuel, and the gap is significant. Charging at home overnight on a residential tariff is the cheapest option by a distance. Public fast charging costs meaningfully more, and if you rely entirely on it the advantage narrows.

That is the important qualifier. The strongest version of the EV cost case assumes home charging, and a great many people here live in flats where that is not straightforward.

Road tax works differently, and not always in your favour

Petrol and hybrid cars are taxed on engine capacity. Electric cars are taxed on the motor's maximum power rating in kilowatts instead, using a banded structure that mirrors the petrol one.

On top of that, fully electric cars pay an Additional Flat Component of $700 a year. This exists because electric cars pay no fuel duty, and duty is how petrol drivers contribute to road funding at the pump.

The practical effect is that a modest electric car pays road tax broadly comparable to a mid-sized petrol car, while a powerful one can pay considerably more, because power ratings on performance EVs are high by petrol standards.

Check the specific figure for any car you are considering on OneMotoring rather than assuming electric means cheaper here. It sometimes does and sometimes does not.

COE category is worth understanding

Electric cars qualify for Category A if the motor is rated at 110kW or below. Above that, they fall into Category B, where premiums run higher.

That threshold sits above the 97kW limit that applies to petrol cars, which reflects how electric motors deliver power differently. It also means some quite brisk electric cars still land in Category A, which is a genuine saving worth checking before you assume a car is out of budget.

The battery question

This is what people worry about, and the concern is reasonable even if the reality is usually better than feared.

Modern batteries degrade gradually rather than failing outright. Typical loss is a few percent over the early years and then it slows. Most cars retain the large majority of their original range well into their life, which for a ten year COE horizon means most owners will never face replacement.

But replacement is expensive, it is the single most costly component in the car, and battery health is not visible from the outside the way engine condition partly is.

On a used EV, ask for a battery health check. Most manufacturers can produce a state of health figure from the car's own systems. A seller who will not obtain one is telling you something.

Depreciation is the real unknown

Petrol cars here have decades of resale data behind them. Electric cars do not, and the technology is still moving quickly enough that a car bought today may look dated in five years in ways a petrol car would not.

Battery chemistry, charging speed and software all improve on a shorter cycle than engines ever did. That is good for buyers of new cars and less good for people trying to sell one four years old.

Rebates complicate it further. Electric cars have attracted substantial green rebates, and those reduce ARF. Since the PARF rebate you get at the end is a percentage of ARF, a car that took a large rebate up front returns less at deregistration. The saving was real, it just arrived at the start rather than the end.

Who it actually suits

It works well if you can charge at home or reliably at work, your driving is mostly local and predictable, and you plan to keep the car long enough for the running cost savings to accumulate.

It works less well if you depend entirely on public charging, you regularly drive to Malaysia where charging infrastructure is thinner, or you change cars every three years and would be exposed to depreciation you cannot yet predict.

Neither of those is a verdict on electric cars. They are a verdict on whether one fits a particular life, which is the only question that matters when you are buying.

Before you commit

1. Work out where you will charge, honestly, on a normal weekday.
2. Get the road tax figure for that specific car from OneMotoring.
3. Check the COE category, since 110kW is the line.
4. On a used car, ask for a battery state of health report.

For how electric motors deliver their power, and why that makes them feel quick in traffic, see how a hybrid actually works and what torque really means.