In recent years, the government has been very vocal about its stance to boost the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in Singapore, with an aim to phase out Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles by 2040.
In the Budget 2020 speech, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat gave the clearest indication of the government’s commitment towards EVs. He said that the country is “placing a significant bet on EVs and leaning policy in that direction because it is the most promising (cleaner vehicle) technology”.
It has set aside S$30 million over the next five years for EV-related initiatives, such as measures to improve charging provision at private premises. This is meant to catalyse the partnership between the public and private sectors, and comes as Singapore is accelerating the development of its charging infrastructure.
It has also committed to building eight “EV-ready” towns in Singapore by 2025, and aims to deploy 60,000 charging points by 2030 — more than double its initial target of 28,000.
As Singapore ramps up its EV agenda and charging infrastructure, EVOne, a leading EV charging station supplier, stands to greatly benefit from this shift.
An end-to-end EV provider
EVOne’s parent group of companies originally focused on vehicle repair and servicing, but due to the changing vehicular landscape in Singapore, EVOne Charging was established in 2019.
EVOne is an all-in-one solutions provider for EV charging needs. Our aim is to make the shift into EVs as seamless and efficient as possible by providing our customers with a high-class customer service and reliable technical support.
– Leonard Tan, manager and co-founder of EVOne
While EVOne started out with the distribution of charging stations, and later expanded into chargers management platform software, it further expanded its wings and established an EV workshop in late 2019.
Currently, its core business model is both as a distribution/solution provider for EV chargers, as well as a Charging Point Operator (CPO). Their long-term expertise in EV chargers allows them to cater to customers, as well as operate its own charging stations which any public EV drivers can utilise.
According to Leonard, EVOne does not target a specific market segment, but rather, it serves anyone who needs an EV charger.
“We cover a full spectrum of needs and requirements, ranging from private use to commercial/industrial and company fleet use. We will provide customised solutions to each of our customers, depending on their needs,” he adds.
EVOne is also the sole distributor of the Hiconics (HiCi) 180kW DC Charger, which is the fastest TR25/LNO-approved EV charger in Singapore. Outputting up to 180kW of power, it can fully charge an EV in under 30 minutes depending on the EV battery.
Becoming a pioneer comes with many challenges
EVOne started up at a time when EV was still nascent, and ICE vehicles were dominating Singapore roads.
Many of the earlier struggles we faced were mostly regarding customer skepticism and how much of the EV technologies and standards are not mature yet. This led to many consumers wondering if it was the right time to make the investment into purchasing an EV charger and transition into EVs.
As such, our focus at the time was to help educate consumers about their possible choices, and provide solutions to many of their infrastructural-related worries; for example, regarding what upgrades they might need to EV-proof their facilities. This would give consumers more confidence in their choice to transition towards EVs.
– Leonard Tan, manager and co-founder of EVOne
Beyond infrastructural concerns, consumers are also worried about the cost of upgrading. These issues are what consumers worry about about the most, even till today.
To alleviate these financial woes, EVOne offers different pricing models to its customers. For example, they offer establishments the choice of not having to pay for the charger, and share the profits of charging instead.
“Additionally, our chargers are competitively-priced, with some of the lowest prices and highest kW output for DC chargers in Singapore. These solutions have allowed customers to transition into EVs with less worry and hassle,” he added.
Customers can use the EVOne mobile app to charge at its public EV charging stations, mostly located in the Western and Central parts of Singapore. It’s as simple as plugging in the the charging cable and scanning a QR code on the charger to begin the charging process.
Payment is also made seamless as the charging fee will be automatically deducted from the credit or debit card that’s linked to the app.
EVOne has installed close to 200 EV chargers in Singapore
In the last few months, Leonard said that the company has also seen a sharp increase in enquiries for installations and orders.
In a separate article, it was reported that EVOne has also been receiving more requests for proposals by condominium residents in the past year to install EV chargers.
So far, EVOne has installed close to 200 EV chargers in Singapore, both AC and DC types for personal and commercial use.
Some of its notable clients include logistics company DHL, waste management and recycling company 800 Super, National University of Singapore, as well as bus operators Go-Ahead Singapore and Tower Transit.
Commenting on the EV landscape in Singapore, he acknowledged that there has indeed been a greater uptake of EVs, but the speed of growth is very much dependent on government support.
“In the near future, EVOne will continue to expand our CPO locations to service the east side of Singapore and increase the number of CPO locations in the remaining areas we serve. We will also continue to introduce more game-changing and high-powered chargers to the market as technology develops, allowing Singaporeans to have a faster and hassle-free charging session.”
“Additionally, we aim to continue participating in major projects and expanding the HiCi charger presence in Singapore,” he summed up.
Featured Image Credit: EVOne Charging / Go-Ahead Singapore
