Electric Vehicle – A car that runs completely on electricity, stored in its onboard batteries, recharged via cable.
Electric cars are propelled solely by an electric motor, unlike hybrid cars which have two different power sources. In Singapore, the government has provided incentives for people who purchase electric vehicles as a way to encourage more people to purchase electric cars instead.
The Electric Vehicle (EV) Early Adoption Incentive will be extended by two years to Dec 31, 2025. From Jan 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2024, owners who register fully electric cars and taxis will receive a rebate of 45 per cent off the Additional Registration Fee (ARF), at a revised cap of S$15,000.
Hybrid Vehicle – Cars that run using a combination of a conventional petrol engine and an electric motor and batteries. There are a range of different hybrids you can choose from, including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), self-charging hybrids, mild hybrids and full hybrids.
Whereas for Hybrid cars, there are a few different variations.
Equipped with both an electric motor and an ICE so that they don’t rely solely on electric power. The battery in a PHEV needs to be charged through an external power source, hence the name ‘plug-in’. If you forget to charge, these cars use the regenerative braking system, so they can also self-charge.
Regenerative braking in hybrid cars works by capturing energy from the friction created through the clamping of the disc by a pair of brake pads, to recharge the onboard battery pack.
Mild hybrids are fitted with both an electric motor and an ICE but their onboard battery packs are much smaller. This means that the batteries can provide just enough power to assist the engine and onboard electronics but not to propel the car by itself.
It uses both an electric motor and an ICE either independently or simultaneously. They have a smaller battery pack which holds lesser amount of electric charge and is more suitable for shorter city drives. The smaller battery size also means that it can be fully charged quicker.
Petrol – A car that runs on spark-ignited internal combustion and requires regular fuel top-ups.
Petrol cars have something called the internal combustion engine (ICE) which is where heat energy from burning fuel is converted into torque to move your car. The roaring noise that you hear from beneath the car is partly due to the thousands of ignitions that happen every minute within the engine.
| Electric Cars | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Environmentally Friendly | Cost more |
| Charge at your convenience | Long charging time |
| Quieter | Charging infrastructure |
| Cheaper to maintain | Higher road tax |
| Hybrid Cars | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Eco Friendly | Cost more than petrol cars |
| Lower Fuel Costs | Still consumes fossil fuels |
| Petrol Cars | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Cheaper to purchase | Expensive Fuel |
| Longer Range | Expensive to Maintain |
| Convenient to top up petrol | Harmful to Environment |
With the government rebates, electric cars are now much more affordable to purchase and own compared to its similar petrol counterparts. At BW Automobiles, we have 2 electric cars in our showroom, the Jaguar I-PACE HSE and Tesla Model Y Performance so head on down to our showroom to find out more today!
