27-05-2025
IN FOCUS: Could perceptions of poor resale value slow Singapore's electric vehicle push?
Another driver who is looking out eagerly on the used EV market is Mr Ikhsan Suri, 36. He currently drives a hybrid vehicle and is considering a resale EV – but only in about five years' time.
'There has been a lot of hype in the past one-and-a-half years with a big oversupply of EVs trying to flood the market,' said Mr Ikhsan, who is in the security industry.
He is banking on there being a big supply of resale EVs on the market in 2030.
'Hopefully, this can bring prices down a bit,' he said.
Will the perception of poor EV resale value affect Singapore's EV push?
The gap between the resale prospects of EV and ICE vehicles is beginning to close, says Mr Daren Yoong, an EV car reviewer who regularly posts videos on YouTube.
This gap will narrow as the resale value of ICE cars could fall in the next few years.
'In Singapore's context, the resale value of ICE cars may actually go down faster, because the country is banning sales of new ICE cars by 2030,' he said.
'There's a perception that, if I buy an ICE car now, will people still want it or not in future?'
EV prices have also become competitive or even surpassed those of ICE cars, said Mr Yoong.
For example, some EV brands are being sold at 20 per cent cheaper than a similar ICE car.
'If you buy (an EV) at 20 per cent cheaper than an ICE car, but then the depreciation is 20 per cent more, net-net it's zero,' he said.
Echoing Mr Ikhsan's sentiment, Mr Yoong added that at the moment, the EV resale market is still nascent in Singapore. As it matures, there will be more stability.
'Most people are buying a resale EV for the first time in Singapore,' he said.
'But in the coming two to three years, when people buy their second resale EV, there will be more data, and there will be more confidence.'
