The prospects of electric vehicles in cities without policy support

The developments in electric vehicles (EVs) are driven by the agenda of cleaner and more efficient transport. The manufacturing cost of EVs are higher than that of internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) mainly due to cost of batteries. The fuel economy of EVs are much better than ICEVs when measured by kilometers per unit of energy consumed, but the total mileage of EVs are much lower than that of ICEVs on a full-tank or full-charge. With the current state of developments in technology and infrastructure, the total vehicle cost of an EV is much higher than that of an ICEV. In the case of Singapore, vehicles are also subject to the Certificate of Entitlement, which restricts the lifetime of a vehicle to a maximum of ten years from the date of registration. Vehicles sold in Singapore are also subject to tax/rebate on the basis of the Carbon Emission-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS). In this study, we attempt a challenging question whether there is a business case for EVs in the absence of policy support. This paper presents our preliminary findings based on the cost of vehicle ownership in Singapore under the current policy environment.