[Article has been updated on 21 July 2021]
Electric car maker Tesla has set up three charging points at Orchard Central and plans to set up more stations in the coming months.
The Tesla V3 Supercharger, which is only for Tesla owners, is expected to shorten charging time to 15 minutes. Normal chargers typically take several hours for a full charge.
Tesla’s charging points were installed under a regulatory sandbox by the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Transport Minister S Iswaran said at a media event held by Sembcorp.
Mr Iswaran said that the LTA had launched the scheme this month, to accommodate technologies that are on track to be included in Singapore’s national charging standard.
He added that LTA has been engaging companies to submit specific sandbox applications for case-by-case assessment.
Tesla expands into Singapore amid country’s EV push
The company is setting up its presence in Singapore amid the country’s electric vehicle (EV) push and is hiring workers to support its business.
Last month, the American electric car maker was reported to be taking over the space formerly occupied by Tan Chong Motor’s Nissan dealership at Toa Payoh.
Its Model 3 car is expected to be displayed there. The only Tesla model available for sale in Singapore is the Model 3 compact. The standard range series costs S$116,364 before certificate of entitlement (COE).
According to the electric car giant’s job portal, it is currently hiring three roles in Singapore: A supply chain manager, APAC trade manager, and an engineer.
The company is going full speed ahead in supporting wider EV adoption. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk said in a Tweet on Wednesday (July 21st) that the company is making its Supercharger network open to other EVs later this year.
Singapore opens grant applications for EV charger installation
The grant to subsidise the installation of EV chargers in condominiums and other non-landed private residences will open for applications on July 29th, authorities provided an update on Monday (July 19th).
The Electric Vehicle Common Charger Grant is aimed at building up charging infrastructure in eligible residences. Through it, LTA will co-fund installation costs of 2,000 EV chargers as an early adoption incentive.
Owners of the EV chargers can apply for the grant to cover three upfront cost components of charger installation. These are the charging stem, licensed electrical worker fees, and cabling and installation costs.
The grant will co-fund 50 per cent of the three cost components, subject to an overall cap of $4,000 per charger.
The chargers must have smart charging functions that can monitor and react to energy consumption information.
“As non-landed private residences form a significant proportion of residences in Singapore, improving charger provision is an important step towards improving the coverage of Singapore’s national EV charging network,” LTA said.
The grant was announced in March during the Ministry of Transport’s budget debate.
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Image Credit: AFP