'Green' cars yet to catch on

Despite incentives, the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight are pricier than petrol-driven alternatives

By Sharmilpal Kaur

ONLY 13 'green' cars have been registered here, despite tax incentives being available since January last year to get electric vehicles or those with hybrid engines on the road.

According to the Land Transport Authority, buyers of 11 Toyota Prius and two Honda Insight models took advantage of the incentives, such as rebates ranging from 5 to 20 per cent of the vehicle's open market value.

There is also a rebate of between 10 and 20 per cent of the vehicle's road tax.

The two models are powered by an electric motor as well as a petrol-driven engine, and switch between the two to maximise efficiency and reduce petrol consumption.

The cars may be easier on the environment, but they can leave quite a hole in the wallet, even with the tax incentives thrown in.

The Honda Insight costs $153,988 after the rebates, while the Toyota Prius goes for $134,488, before the rebate of about $6,000. Both prices include a Certificate of Entitlement.

This makes petrol-driven cars such as the Honda City, for instance, still much cheaper, at just under half the price of the Insight.

Said Singapore Environment Council executive director Penelope Phoon: 'The take-up rate would be higher if more incentives are given at the outset.

'If the price is right, people would go for it.'

The 13 green cars here account for less than 0.2 per cent of the more than 67,000 new cars registered last year.

Environmentalists and motor-industry officials said the incentives need to have more of an impact on the price of the car, if such vehicles are to catch on in Singapore.

Countries like Britain and Sweden have come up with bold incentives to get people to switch to greener cars. In Britain, up to 75 per cent of the extra cost is returned to the car buyer. Fuel taxes are used to encourage more people to drive gas-powered cars.

And in Sweden, there is a 40-per-cent cut in the taxes for company cars that run on both petrol and natural gas.

These measures have helped in putting some 80,000 Prius cars on the road around the world, according to Mr Hirofumi Fujise, the external-affairs general manager for Toyota Motor Asia-Pacific.

Despite the poor start here, environmentalists remain convinced that there is a future for green cars here.

To give eco-friendly vehicles a boost, the Singapore Environment Council plans to make a push for cleaner fuels like natural gas as part of its Earth Day celebrations.

The council is encouraging people to use their cars less, or to switch to cleaner fuels like natural gas as part of its Car Free Day event.

Said Ms Phoon: 'People are now talking about greener vehicles and cleaner technologies - this is related to the overall theme of Car Free Day.

'It is not about abandoning your cars but about raising awareness.'

The Environment Ministry is also throwing its weight behind green vehicles. It is working with public-transport companies to get buses and taxis powered by compressed natural gas onto roads here by the end of the month.

Taxi companies Comfort and CityCab will run 50 cabs each on the clean fuel in a trial, while SBS Transit service 712, plying between Jurong East and Jurong Island, will be the first bus here to run on the gas.

To keep the buses going, a gas-refuelling station will be built on Jurong Island.

Said Ms Phoon: 'That's a good way to start, to use green vehicles for public transport.'

Earth Day events

WHAT'S lined up to mark Earth Day on Monday:

Reforestation by retail chain Timberland. Proceeds from a special Earth Day T-shirt sold at all Timberland stores will be used to plant trees at the Mandai Nature Reserve on Monday.

• The Body Shop will sell soft toys of endangered species. Proceeds will go towards the Wildlife Conservation Fund of the Singapore Zoological Gardens.
   
• A visit to Pulau Ubin between 9 am and 5 pm on Saturday for treks, talks and displays highlighting the island's heritage, kampung lifestyle and natural life.
   
• Local in-line skating company Skateline is organising a 20-km-long skating event from Bishan Park 2 to Bedok Jetty in the East Coast on Sunday.
    
• A mass-cycling event, the National Leisure Cycling 2002, will also be held on Sunday, starting from Marina City Park.
    
• Car Free Day, which was held on April 19, will be held over two days this year. It is held worldwide to raise awareness of the environmental impact of cars.
    

This year, it is being held on Sunday and Monday to make it more flexible for people to choose either a weekend or weekday to give up their cars. You can log on to www.sec.org.sg to find out more.