Converted electric cars hit the road in Singapore

Idea gaining traction but it's a bumpy ride for pioneer firms
Grace Chua Straits Times 23 Sep 10;

FOR five years, a bright orange, single-seat car was the lone electric vehicle plying Singapore's roads.

But since last year, the Corbin Sparrow, registered in 2003 by an American teacher here, has had more company.

There are now at least eight electric vehicles here, going by Land Transport Authority (LTA) statistics: seven motorcycles and scooters and one electric car.

Electric car conversion start-up EV Hub has also obtained approval from LTA to convert a BMW and a goods vehicle.

Electric vehicle use and research seem to be moving ahead.

Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi is scheduled to bring in up to 50 of its i-MiEV cars for test programmes here by the end of the year, while the Energy Market Authority has been searching for a service provider to design, build and run a network of charging stations for such test cars.

Because they do not use fossil fuels, driving such vehicles does not produce the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which contributes to climate change.

EV Hub unveiled a snazzy red Porsche and sleek grey BMW - both fully electric - at the launch of the Singapore G1 green vehicle race earlier this month, and also has an electric Renault van. Mr David Chou, 40, managing director of the one-year-old start-up, feels converting existing cars to electric ones would encourage people to adopt the technology.

'It's like doing a heart transplant for a car. You give it a new motor, components and wires, but keep the chassis you love, so it has the same sturdiness, safety features and so on,' he said. Making a new car from scratch, even if it was electric, also produces extra carbon emissions, he added.

It costs more than $50,000 for a basic conversion, which involves swopping the engine and innards with an electric motor system; and up to about $200,000 for a higher-end set-up with more cutting-edge batteries and technology.Those who own these cars have to charge them at home, so they are practical only for those living in landed property.

The firm is working with the National University of Singapore and Singapore Polytechnic to test different kinds of electric motor technology, and train students to test and maintain such vehicles.

Meanwhile, Greenlots, which distributes and installs charging points where people can pay to charge vehicles, has sold three of its E-Max electric scooters since they were launched in April last year.

Its customers are in their late 20s and early 30s, and commute short distances to work, said Greenlots vice-president Khoo Lin Zhuang, 28. But they live on landed property as there are few places to charge the vehicles here. Greenlots has, however, installed a handful of charging stations in places such as the 313@Somerset and Parkway Parade malls.

Such inconvenience, along with uncertainty about funding schemes, is part and parcel of being a pioneer on the electric vehicle scene here, Mr Khoo said.

But he added it was worthwhile: 'We're not one of the big boys, that's why we have to rush out of the gate first.'

But it has been a bumpy ride for other electric vehicle firms.

Mr Clarence Tan of the Green Car Company, with a fleet of five Corbin Sparrow three-wheelers, said no one wanted to buy the cars, which cost about $125,000 each. Reasons included the lack of charging points and limited range, as the car can travel only 30km to 50km on a single charge.

The firm's new plan: wait for certificates of entitlement prices to drop, then put the vehicles on the road and invite advertisers to place ads on the cars.