alt-cars vs. traditional fuel cars

  • Higher fuel efficiency

Fuel efficiency refers to the distance your car can travel per unit of fuel.  The better your fuel efficiency -> the less fuel you need -> less crude oil is needed. Crude oil is a limited resource due to it being a non-renewable. This is why fuel prices fluctuate, because the supply may be low or high during a given period. Of course, if you require less fuel, you would be spending less money too!

  • Low environmental impact

Electric cars have ZERO tailpipe emissions. Hybrid cars have some tailpipe emissions, due to the presence of the internal combustion engine. The tailpipe emissions contain the greenhouse gases and the particulate matter that lead to global warming and air pollution respectively (click here for more). Although the electricity may come from a coal station (that is already contributing to pollution), the nett environmental impact is still lower than if one were to drive a fuel car.

  • Do not contribute to noise pollution

Those of us who live right beside major roads or expressways know that vehicles can be very noisy. The vehicles that operate on an internal combustion engine generate lots of noise. Noise pollution has many negative effects on humans. They cause unnecessary stress, our cardiovascular health becomes unhealthy and disrupted sleep. On the other hand, electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars produce a very minimal amount of noise. They are so quiet that the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued a new rule stating that the cars have to produce an “audible noise” when travelling at low speeds. The rule was passed because there have been several accidents involving alt-cars and blind pedestrians. If we make a switch to alt-cars, our lives will be more peaceful!

Unfortunately, alt-cars do have some drawbacks…

  • Expensive to buy

They are known to be more expensive than traditional fuel cars. Consumers in Singapore have to make a larger upfront payment. For example, a Nissan Leaf EV (electric) costs S$200,000, while the Nissan Sylphy ICEV (traditional fuel) costs S$110,000, based on May 2014 prices. This is even after taking into consideration taxes and rebates under the Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme.

  • Hassle to refuel

Lastly, it is more tedious and a hassle to “refuel” your electric car or plug-in hybrid. Petrol stations are abundant in Singapore, whereas charging points for electric cars a bit more scarce. However, this is set to change with recent news stating that the government is trying to introduce more charging points. In my next section of ‘Local Scene’, I explore further into whether or not it is really a hassle to refuel in Singapore’s context.


Below is a comparison table between the 4 major categories of vehicles (click to enlarge). They summarise what has been discussed above.