THIS WEEK’S TOPIC: Should electric vehicles spell the future of driving in Singapore? Or should the country focus on becoming car-lite?
There are two reasons why electric vehicles (EV) will be the future of Singapore. Firstly, overall car usage. According to official figures, the car population has steadily increased every year from some 604,000 in 2016 to over 636,000 in 2020.
Secondly, the EV trend. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global EV market has soared in the past decade. In 2010, there were about 17,000 electric cars in the world. This number had swelled to 7.2 million by 2019, with China accounting for 47 per cent of the total. In terms of global market share, electric cars have more than doubled from 1.4 per cent in 2017 to 3.2 per cent in 2020.
Hence, while Singapore should still develop a world-class public transport system, I see that more as a complement rather than a replacement of our overall transportation needs. The S$30 million set aside in Budget 2021 for EV initiatives will certainly be a boon for future EV take-up.
Mario Singh
Chief Executive Officer
Fullerton Markets
