Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce forum on electric mobility saw industry heavyweights weigh in on the future of electric cars here (clue: It’s bright)

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Photos by SGC, Derryn Wong

SINGAPORE – Last Friday saw the German-Singaporean E-Mobility Forum 2021, conducted at the Conrad Centennial, where some of the latest e-mobility tech was on display.

Industry heavyweights discussed the involvement of the private sector in Singapore’s Green Plan 2030, especially its target of 60,000 charging points by 2030, and Singapore’s Minister For Transport shed light on progress toward that goal. 

Organised by the non-profit Singaporean-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (SGC), the main topic of discussion was the role of the private sector in the expansion of electrified motoring/mobility in Singapore.

Opening the event was a speech by Mr Jens Rübbert, the President of the SGC, followed by His Excellency Dr Norbert Riedel, Ambassador Of The Federal Republic of Germany To The Republic of Singapore. 

The highlight of the event was a dialogue with the event’s guest of honour, Mr S Iswaran, the Minister for Transport, who answered questions from the forum attendees. Steering the discussion with the Minister was Mr Martin Hayes, the SGC Automotive Committee Chairman and Managing Director for Bosch Singapore. 

There were also two panels at the event, featuring the infrastructure and car makers’ perspectives, respectively. 

E-Mobility: The Infrastructure Perspective

From left to right:

Mr Andrey Berdichevsky, Deloitte’s Global Future of Mobility Solution Centre Singapore
Ms Silvia Imran, Vice President, Strategic Account Management, Tüv Süd
Mr Bernard Sim, Assistant Director, Sustainable Energy Solutions, Sp Group
Mr Kelvin Tay, Managing Director, Future Mobility, Goldbell Corporation

E-Mobility: The Car Manufacturers’ Perspective

From left to right:
Mr Andrey Berdichevsky, Deloitte’s Global Future of Mobility Solution Centre Singapore
Mr Steve Chan, Head Of Regional Government & External Affairs For Southeast Asia (Asean), BMW Asia Pte Ltd
Mr Markus Schuster, Managing Director, Audi Singapore Pte Ltd
Mr Claudius Steinhoff, President & Ceo, Daimler South East Asia Pte Ltd

Along with the leadership, cars from the major German luxury carmakers were present in a static display which included the following:

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60,000 charge points: Sooner rather than later

In the dialogue session, Mr Iswaran revealed that his ministry and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) have just completed a ‘major consultation exercise with the (transport) industry’ as a crucial first step toward the goal of widespread charging points here. 

He said that the exercise also looked at the balance of private and public involvement in models existing in other countries, as well as implications for the wider power grid infrastructure where the authorities had spent ‘quite a bit of time’ investigating. 

All this provides an important backdrop for the next stage of the process, which is calling for proposals for wider charging infrastructure, especially in public housing estates. 

He noted the success of EEAI and VES in promoting EV ownership here, saying that the proportion of EV ownership had gone up by more than 10 times in the first nine months of 2021, compared to 2020.

He said that the goal was for the 60,000 chargers to be available sooner, rather than ‘backloaded in the decade’ (of 2020-2030): “We do want to roll out the charging infrastructure earlier so that it doesn’t become the impediment for the switch to EVs.”

Mr Iswaran also acknowledged that his ministry was looking into ways to further electrify a crucial, though less visible, component of transport emissions: Heavy vehicles. He said that the ministry and the LTA is working closer with fleet operators of buses, taxis and public transport to investigate options for electrification – currently with hybrid technology, and then full electric technology further afield.

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