Can Electric Vehicles be as Ubiquitous as the iPhone?

Moderator and Speakers at Roundtable G. From left to right, Harry Hoster (Moderator), Jerry Ang, Andreas Allebrod, Manuel Chaufrein, Jan Ehlen, Nenad Markovic, Erez Schreiber, Stefen Büchele, Lim Say Leong.

In an engaging roundtable session today, panellists and the audience had a spirited discussion about the issues of making electric vehicles (EVs) more common in cities and Mr. Erez Schreiber of Elbit Systems in Israel quipped that selling an EV was like “trying to sell something to (a) customer (who) does not believe, or he does not understand he needs it”.

This was unlike the smartphone, he added, which people see as a necessity of life.

The roundtable on “Electromobility” was held on the final day of the Singapore International Energy Week and was moderated by Professor Harry Hoster of TUM CREATE, Singapore. Other speakers at the session included Mr. Jerry Ang of SKEV Motors, Singapore; Mr. Andreas Allebrod, Drive carsharing, Germany; Mr. Manuel Chaufrein, INDUCT Technologies, France;  Mr. Jan Ehlen, BMW, Singapore; Dr. Nenad Markovic, Argonne National Lab, USA; Mr. Stefen Büchele, Cluster E-mobility, Germany and Mr. Lim Say Leong, ABB Pte Ltd, Singapore.

Negative public perception of EVs was largely attributed to the lack of understanding of the technology. Public concern, said Mr Lim, centred on range anxiety - “How far can I go?” and “Where is the next charging station?” The challenges lay in sending the right messages to the consumers and providing the necessary support to meet their expectations.

Mr. Ehlen elaborated that the typical person drove his vehicle between 50 and 70 kilometres per day and with current technology, EVs are capable of going for up to 3 days before a recharge is needed.

EVs are not just 4-wheelers. Mr. Jerry Ang spoke about the possible penetration of the 2-wheeled EVs in the cities, and particularly in a small city like Singapore where the daily distance travelled is not large. Two-wheelers are an attractive alternative to 4-wheelers in such situations, not the least because the batteries could be charged from any power socket. The main concerns, however, revolved around safety of these 2-wheelers and the lack of promotion of and infrastructural support for the use of such vehicles.

Other real concerns included charging infrastructure – that the network was growing too slowly. Professor Hoster asked if the relevant companies could see or understand the potential business opportunities in further developing charging infrastructure.

The panelists said that more education to help consumers better understand what EVs could offer and to help them change their vehicle usage behavior.  It is also necessary to continue to develop the necessary infrastructural support to encourage a higher take-up rate of EVs.

By : Xavier Lim, EMA