Singapore Government will authorise the installation of fast-charging stations for electric vehicles

To promote the wider adoption of cleaner vehicles here, the Singapore Government will authorise the installation of fast-charging stations countrywide.

During the Ministry of Transport’s (MOT) committee of supply debate on Thursday (March 5), Senior Minister of State for Transport DR Janil Puthucheary declared that the fast-charging system they will allow is called Chademo, which is adopted primarily by Japanese electric vehicle manufacturers. The system allows electric cars to be fully charged in approximately 30 minutes. To find out more about the Chademo system, read here.

Updating such regulations is part of the Government’s plan to phase out vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE) in 20 years’ time, by 2040, said Dr Janil.

With close to 900,000 ICE vehicles on the road today, this will require an extensive transformation of the fleet, consumer behaviour and the necessary supporting infrastructure, he said.

This is also in line with the Government’s effort to prioritise the implementation of viable charging stations at carparks, as well as what Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat shared in his budget speech on Feb 18 concerning the measures taken by the Government to encourage the adoption of electric vehicles in Singapore.

The measures range from a rebate of up to 45 per cent on the additional registration fee, capped at S$20,000, for early adopters of electric vehicles from January next year, and an expansion of the public charging infrastructure from 1,600 today to about 28,000 by 2030.

The purpose of the measure is to have Singaporeans “convinced that we have access to a charger that is as convenient as access to a petrol station,” opined Dr Janil.

In a related matter, Dr Janil also announced on Thursday that there will also be an amendment to the motorcycle registration regime from April this year to allow higher-powered electric motorcycles with power ratings exceeding 10kW on public roads.

Additionally, electric motorcycles with a top speed of 50km/h and above will be allowed on expressways from April 1.

While the road tax structure for electric motorcycles will be the same as the existing road tax structure for ICE motorcycles, there will be an additional tax of S$200 a year for electric motorcyclists. This is likened to the fuel excise duties paid by the equivalent ICE motorcycles.

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