🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Automakers are tailoring EVs for Singapore’s lower-cost car category

• EV buyers in Singapore can receive up to $30,000 in tax rebates. Some Chinese models also qualify for the cheaper Category A Certificate of Entitlement (COE), the permit needed to own a car. Category A covers electric cars with output of 110 kilowatts or less 1.
• Some carmakers now sell Singapore-only versions with less power. Examples include the Tesla Model Y 110 and the Volvo EX30 110kW, both built to fit the Category A limit 2.
• MG and Aion, the EV brand owned by China’s GAC, also offer versions that stay within the 110kW cap and gain the same price edge 2.

China’s EV rise in Singapore is driving policy shifts abroad

• Chinese brands are gaining ground in Singapore as part of a wider rise in China’s EV exports, which has led countries to respond in different ways 3.
• Malaysia plans to raise the minimum sale price for imported EVs to 200,000 ringgit (US$45,000). The move aims to protect jobs and encourage foreign automakers to build vehicles locally, as Proton and Perodua roll out EV models 3.
• BYD is adjusting by building its first European car plant in Hungary. The company has also applied to join the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) as it looks to avoid added European Union (EU) tariffs 4.