Chinese electric cars accelerate into Singapore, institutions: electric car sales in Singapore are expected to increase by more than 70% this year

Chinese electric vehicles frequently bring good news:

Data from the China Passenger Car Association on Thursday showed that in July, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in China exceeded 50%, securing a dominant position in the domestic passenger car market.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers stated on Friday that in July, the sales volume of new energy vehicles reached 43.8% of the total sales volume of new vehicles in China, further increasing its market share.

Chinese electric vehicles are not only thriving domestically but also spreading fragrance overseas:

Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that in the first half of the year, exports of new energy vehicles increased by 25.7% year-on-year, maintaining a rapid growth trend in July.

The Southeast Asian market has always been a key battleground for Chinese automotive companies to go global. With ultimate cost-effectiveness, Chinese brands not only dominate the electric vehicle market in Thailand, but are also accelerating their entry into markets such as Malaysia and Singapore.

Especially in Singapore, in order to promote the popularization of electric vehicles, the Singaporean government has introduced a series of stimulus policies and vigorously built charging stations, attracting more and more Chinese electric vehicle brands to enter Singapore.

Last week, Geely's luxury electric vehicle brand ZEEKR launched the high-end SUV ZEEKR X in Singapore for the first time, with a starting price of SGD 199,999 (approximately RMB 108.3 million). This launch event marks ZEEKR's formal entry into the high-end automotive market in Singapore.

Mars Chen, Vice President of ZEEKR, stated after the launch: "As Singapore continues to advance the transformation of electric vehicles, we believe that people's demand for electric vehicles is not just a means of transportation, but also a high-quality driving experience and convenience, thereby enhancing urban life."

Chen said: "We are very optimistic, and the launch of our products will expand our influence in Southeast Asia and other regions."

Just a week ago, XPeng Motors announced its entry into the Singapore market and set up a pop-up showroom in Singapore to provide visitors with the experience of test-driving the XPeng G6 electric SUV. The standard version of this electric vehicle starts at SGD 209,999, while the long-range version starts at SGD 224,999.

Chinese Electric Vehicles "Gather" in Singapore

In fact, Chinese electric vehicle brands are not unfamiliar to Singapore. China's leading electric vehicle company, BYD, has been operating in Singapore since 2014, covering a range of electric vehicle sub-markets including trucks, buses, taxis, and private cars over the past decade.

In addition, other Chinese brands such as GAC Aion and Chery have also launched electric vehicles in Singapore.

Malaysian bank securities analyst Jarick Seet told the media: "I believe Chinese electric vehicles are going global, and Singapore is just one of the countries they hope to enter. Singapore is also very developed—the urban landscape is very suitable for electric vehicles." Seet said, "Although the Singapore market is relatively small, with the government vigorously promoting the popularization of electric vehicles, entering the Singapore market is an ideal choice for electric vehicle companies."

Accelerated Growth of the Singapore Electric Vehicle Market with Government Support

In the process of energy transition, Singapore plans to gradually phase out diesel cars and taxis from 2025, and gradually phase out internal combustion engine cars from 2030.

According to data from the Singapore Ministry of Transport, electric vehicles accounted for about one-third of domestic new car sales in the first half of this year, nearly double the 18% in 2023. Minister of Transport Khaw Boon Wan previously stated that incentive measures and emission plans will help reduce the upfront costs of owning an electric vehicle by up to SGD 40,000 by 2024.

Charging infrastructure has long been a major challenge, but Khaw Boon Wan pointed out that charging infrastructure is being installed as planned to support a higher number of electric vehicles, with the goal of reaching 60,000 charging stations by 2030. So far, Singapore has installed over 7,100 electric vehicle charging stations.

To maintain the momentum of electric vehicle popularization, Singapore announced in September last year that the electric vehicle incentive scheme will be extended for two more years until 2025.

Under this scheme, newly registered full electric vehicles and taxis will receive a 45% discount on the Additional Registration Fee (tax levied at vehicle registration), with a cap of SGD 15,000.

A report by BMI, a subsidiary of Fitch Solutions, previously stated that with a series of incentive measures, Singapore's passenger electric vehicle sales in 2024 are expected to increase by 73.7% year-on-year, with plug-in hybrid electric vehicle sales growing by 53.4% and battery electric vehicle sales growing by 74.7%.

BMI also noted, "We observe that Singapore's electric vehicle charging infrastructure needs to expand rapidly in the medium term to support the continued popularization of electric vehicles."