Written Reply to Parliamentary Question on Deployment and Adequacy of Targets for Fast E-vehicle Charging Points in Public and Private Estates

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Transport

a.     whether the current targets for Electronic Vehicle (EV) charging points in public and private estates are adequately significant to move the needle to persuade drivers to switch their internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs; 

b.     whether the Ministry has considered the inconvenience of overnight slow charging where multiple drivers have to compete for a charging point; and

c.     whether the Ministry will be able to increase the deployment rate of fast EV charging points if demand increases in the next few years.

Reply by Minister for Transport S Iswaran:

1.     The Land Transport Authority launched a tender last month to deploy up to 12 electric vehicle, or EV, charging points in nearly 2,000 HDB carparks. With this, up to an additional 12,000 charging points will be deployed by 2025 subject to demand. Beyond HDB carparks, we have also launched the EV Common Charger Grant to encourage more non-landed private residences to install charging points. All these efforts contribute towards our target to have 60,000 EV charging points in Singapore by 2030, which will be adequate to meet projected EV charging demand. LTA will monitor adoption patterns and deploy more charging points where demand is stronger.

2.    Overall, slow charging places a much lower burden on electrical infrastructure, which in turn reduces the cost of charging for everyone. We are working with EV charging operators to optimise available charging infrastructure, such that drivers are able to slow-charge their EVs overnight at their usual carparks. At the same time, we recognise that fast EV charging points can complement the slow charging network by serving high-mileage vehicle segments like taxis and commercial fleets, as well as EV users with urgent charging needs. EV charging operators have already started deploying fast charging points at many locations, including offices, retail malls, and petrol stations, and we expect more to be deployed in the coming years. We are also studying options for the deployment of fast charging points near neighbourhood town centres and food centres.