Electric vehicles go the distance

It is just as well that the candies and soft drinks sold at petrol stations cost as much as they do, because people will not be patronising such convenience stores as often as they did before - not with the rising popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) and advancing technology that keep motorists away from the pumps.

- Lee Nian Tjoe

Hybrid vehicles, which combine the petrol engine with electrification, promise long operating range and lower fuel bills. They also allow those not sold on full EVs and their reliance on the charging network to get a taste of electric motoring.

If variety is the spice of life, shopping for electrified vehicles in 2025 will be more thrilling than a mala hotpot dinner.

The excitement over full EVs may seem to be cooling abroad, but Singapore is still obsessed with them.

In the first 10 months of 2024, EVs made up 32.7 per cent of new car registrations, up from 18.1 per cent over the whole of 2023.

The final 2024 vehicle registration count may not be out yet, but it will be a surprise if Chinese EV brand BYD does not end up being Singapore's best-selling brand.

As at end-October, BYD had 4,560 registrations, outselling every other mass-market brand that deals in petrol-hybrid and combustion-engine models.

There were 31 brands in Singapore offering full EVs in 2024, up from 22 brands in 2023.