ATB tells you why she got rid of her electeic car.

[Rabbit7]

Good points.

1. Cold winters in China - markedly reduced range
2. Filling up is faster, more convenient than charging up
3. Battery charge deterioration over time
4. Changing batteries is very expensive
5. Insecurity when driving long distances

(1), (5) don't apply to Sg (if you don't drive upcountry). (3) not really applicable too since our cars and petrol are much more expensive than China's (relative to battery price), tipping the cost-benefit in favor of EV, esp when you factor in the 8 yrs/160,000km battery warranty and the new rebate structure.

Would someone tabulate the running costs of an EV,
verses
a ICE Car ?

For example,

My Car's Petrol Consumption - when I extrapolate from Fuel Top-Ups to Distance Traveled, to the Fuel Price - I get about sgd 0.40 per km

Plus about sgd 60 per day, average, in Depreciation, Maintenance, Insurance Taxes

In other Words,

The more important points to know are,

1. Travel Cost per km

2. Daily, All-In Owning Costs

Thanks

 

[Ng Cheh Hwang]

can someone please share with her that a BMW petrol vehicle just caught fire on road last week and killed the driver?
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...pe-two-expressway-exits-closed-after-accident

 

[syed putra]

Would someone tabulate the running costs of an EV,
verses
a ICE Car ?

For example,

My Car's Petrol Consumption - when I extrapolate from Fuel Top-Ups to Distance Traveled, to the Fuel Price - I get about sgd 0.40 per km

Plus about sgd 60 per day, average, in Depreciation, Maintenance, Insurance Taxes

In other Words,

The more important points to know are,

1. Travel Cost per km

2. Daily, All-In Owning Costs

Thanks

New batteries if it lasts 20 years as they say it will, means that a EV car with minimum maintenance will not give you any problems within that stipulated period. But battery storage capacity may reduce over time to 70-80% of that when new.
Only hassle is time to charge the batteries. Slow AC charging at home may take 5 hours till max. Fast DC charging outside within 30 minutes till 80% only. Not advisable to charge more than that figure to maintain battery storage performance.
You can slow charge in JB where power is cheaper till 100%. And run your car for a week or 450km.

 

[syed putra]

can someone please share with her that a BMW petrol vehicle just caught fire on road last week and killed the driver?
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...pe-two-expressway-exits-closed-after-accident

It could be a hybrid bmw with maybe 20kwhr lithium Ion batteries used to power the car during acceleration and charge when braking.

 

[Hightech88]

Would someone tabulate the running costs of an EV,
verses
a ICE Car ?

For example,

My Car's Petrol Consumption - when I extrapolate from Fuel Top-Ups to Distance Traveled, to the Fuel Price - I get about sgd 0.40 per km

Plus about sgd 60 per day, average, in Depreciation, Maintenance, Insurance Taxes

In other Words,

The more important points to know are,

1. Travel Cost per km

2. Daily, All-In Owning Costs

Thanks

Ranjiao EV is still not worth it for the moment and even worse in the future when the VES rebates gets lower. EVs has a lot of hidden costs (e.g. more than double road tax, higher insurance, higher price depending on your car make/model) which will negate any savings over ICE or even hybrids, not forgetting the inconvenience of charging. The only exception is when you stay in landed with own EV charger.

But then it also depends on your usage patterns (long distance vs short-distance city driving), which car make/model you buy and do an apple to apple comparison and what you features want for a car to give you maximum utility at the lowest possible cost. IMO, the best value for money car with lowest running costs is a < 1600cc Toyota hybrid. Even Plug-in hybrids for China cars is still a question mark as their technology and reliability is not yet tested. So costs alone is not enough, it is what maximum utility you can get from the car at the lowest possible cost.

-------------------------
Here is the tabulation and comparison of the real running costs of an Electric Vehicle (EV) versus a typical Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) car in Singapore, using realistic 2025 numbers.

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Baseline assumptions​

Parameter	EV (e.g. BYD Seal, Tesla Model 3 RWD)	ICE Car (e.g. Toyota Corolla 1.6 / Honda Civic 1.5T)
Electricity cost (home AC charging)	S$0.30 per kWh (SP Tariff)	—
Electricity cost (public DC fast charging)	S$0.55 per kWh (Shell Recharge / Charge+ avg)	—
Energy efficiency	6 km per kWh (EV)	14 km per litre (ICE)
Petrol price	—	S$2.75 per litre (95-oct)
Annual mileage	15,000 km	15,000 km
Car price (new)	S$170,000 (EV mid-range)	S$130,000 (ICE mid-range)
Road tax	S$1,400/year (EV)	S$800/year (ICE 1.6L)
Maintenance	50% cheaper for EV	—

---

Running cost per kilometre (travel cost)​

Cost component	Formula	EV (home charge)	EV (public charge)	ICE
Energy/fuel	(Tariff ÷ km/kWh or km/litre)	0.30 ÷ 6 = S$0.05/km	0.55 ÷ 6 = S$0.09/km	2.75 ÷ 14 = S$0.20/km
Maintenance	(Est. per km)	~S$0.05/km	~S$0.05/km	~S$0.10/km
Road tax (annual ÷ 15,000)		~S$0.09/km	~S$0.09/km	~S$0.05/km
Total travel cost		S$0.19/km	S$0.23/km	S$0.35/km

EV travel cost per km:

• Home-charged EV ≈ S$0.19/km
• Public-charged EV ≈ S$0.23/km
• ICE ≈ S$0.35/km

So an EV saves around S$0.12–0.16/km on running cost.

---

Daily all-in ownership cost (depreciation, insurance, tax, maintenance, energy)​

Cost Component	EV	ICE
Purchase price	S$170,000	S$130,000
Depreciation (8 years)	S$21,000/yr = S$58/day	S$16,000/yr = S$44/day
Road tax	S$1,400/yr = S$3.80/day	S$800/yr = S$2.20/day
Insurance	S$1,800/yr = S$4.90/day	S$1,500/yr = S$4.10/day
Maintenance	S$500/yr = S$1.40/day	S$1,000/yr = S$2.70/day
Energy/fuel (15,000 km/yr = 41 km/day)	41×S$0.19 = S$7.80/day	41×S$0.35 = S$14.40/day

| Total Daily Cost (All-In) | S$76/day (EV) | S$67/day (ICE) |

---

Key insights​

Travel cost per km

• EV: S$0.19–S$0.23
• ICE: S$0.35
  EVs are about 35–45% cheaper to run per km.

Total daily cost (ownership + running)

• EVs still cost more per day overall if you factor higher upfront price and depreciation.
• Over 8 years, savings on fuel and maintenance may offset the higher purchase cost partially, but not fully yet in 2025 (due to high COE and EV premiums).

Summary table​

Metric	EV	ICE
Travel Cost per km	S$0.19–0.23	S$0.35
Daily All-in Cost	S$76	S$67
8-year Total Cost (est.)	~S$221K	~S$196K
Maintenance Effort	Low	Moderate
Energy Source	Electricity (home/public)	Petrol
Environmental Impact	Cleaner	Higher emissions

---

Conclusion​

For now in Singapore:

• EVs win on operating cost per km.
• ICE cars win on total ownership cost per day, due to lower purchase and depreciation.
• Best case for EVs: if you can charge at home (Landed or Condo EV charger) and plan to keep the car 8–10 years, you’ll eventually break even or come ahead.

---

-----------Source: ChatGPT