My car is nearing its 10 year certificate expiry, so I have been running the numbers before choosing its successor. The category A COE just closed at S$101 102 and a new petrol sedan would incur that full amount. Electric cars still need the same paper, yet the Enhanced VES rebate of S$25 000 and the ARF discount of 45 percent capped at S$15 000 trim the initial costs. That is why a BYD Atto 3 now parks on the road for about S$180 000 while a new car can easily cost more than S$160 000 once it carries a six-figure COE.
Powering the car flips the equation faster than I expected. The Q3 electricity tariff is S$0.2994 per kilowatt hour, and my block has just installed shared 7 kW chargers. With mixed home and mall top ups the Atto would drink roughly S$1 000 of power each year for my 17 500 km routine. Petrol at S$2.26 a litre pushes my current car to about S$2 500 a year, so the socket saves S$1 500 before touching other bills.
Road tax no longer punishes me for choosing batteries. A 150 kW crossover pays a little over S$1 000 a year, against the S$740 on my 1.6 litre saloon, meaning only S$260 is clawed back from the fuel saving.
Workshop costs lean the other way. Studies of local logs show electric servicing is roughly 30 percent cheaper in the first 3 years because there is no oil or gearbox fluid and brake pads last longer. Over a 10 year horizon that is another S$2 000 kept in my pocket.
Add everything and the EV starts S$20 000 higher but banks about S$1 800 a year in lower running costs. At my mileage I would cross the break-even point just after year 7. Drivers who rely entirely on public fast chargers, which cost around S$0.70 per kilowatt hour, would need closer to 9 years; high-mile reps would hit parity sooner.
There are softer factors. Having convenient access to charging points is important. Holiday drives up north will require planning but the Malaysian DC network seems to be growing, and the grid here is already cleaner than any petrol engine.
For me the sums and the silence of electric driving do not seem attractive enough. Until I am sure EVs can retain their value better than the latest iPhone, the familiar vroom of the ICE car still seems much more attractive.
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EV Wins but ICE Still Makes Better Sense
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EV Wins but ICE Still Makes Better Sense
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