Electric Vehicle Sharing Service Officially Launches in Singapore

Taking First Steps in 2017 with the 佛 Group... Expanding Charging Stations to 28,000 by 2030

[Asia Economy Singapore Seo Jumi, Guest Reporter] Singapore, which announced it will stop operating internal combustion engine vehicles such as gasoline cars by 2040 to promote eco-friendly car adoption, is launching an electric vehicle sharing service.

According to local media including The Straits Times on the 27th, the Singapore government plans to increase the number of electric vehicle charging stations from about 1,600 currently to 28,000 by 2030 to facilitate the use of electric vehicles. Due to higher awareness of vehicle sharing compared to other countries, they aim to expand electric vehicle sharing by expanding the electric vehicle infrastructure.

Among Southeast Asian countries, Singapore was the first to promote vehicle sharing services. Its small land area, dense population, and fast internet speed enabling digital payments provided the infrastructure foundation. Although Singapore's vehicle sharing service market ranks 5th in the world, its per capita vehicle sharing service usage rate is the highest at 29.3%.

However, vehicle sharing has not yet expanded to electric vehicles. Even considering government support programs, the price of electric vehicles is very high, and the share of electric vehicles in Singapore's automobile market is still minimal. According to a survey by the Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore, the number of electric vehicle users in the country is 1,190 this year, accounting for only 0.2% of the total 631,266 registered vehicles. The plan is to strengthen conditions for electric vehicle sharing to accelerate growth.

Singapore's electric vehicle sharing service began in 2017. The LTA partnered with the French Bollor? Group to conduct a pilot program. At the start of the service, there were only 80 electric vehicles and 30 charging stations. Currently, there are 530 vehicles, 253 parking facilities, and 1,003 charging stations.

Industry insiders emphasize that the growth of the electric vehicle market is related to the upcoming era of autonomous vehicles and say that vehicle sharing is essential for expanding the electric vehicle industry.

However, some experts point out that rather than artificially activating the still internally undeveloped electric vehicle market, efforts to strengthen support measures for actual users are necessary.

Recently, Hyundai Motor Group has attracted attention by entering the electric vehicle market. They plan to invest about 400 million Singapore dollars (approximately 334.5 billion KRW) to build the "Singapore Global Innovation Center." After its completion in 2022, the facility will produce about 30,000 electric vehicles annually in Singapore by 2025.