Singapore offers S$40,000 incentive for electric heavy vehicles; co-funds up to S$30,000 for chargers
Both grants will run for three years, from 2026 till 2028
COME 2026, owners of new fully electric heavy vehicles (EHVs) in Singapore will receive an incentive of S$40,000 a vehicle, and can get co-funding of up to S$30,000 per accompanying charger.
The market for cleaner heavy vehicles is nascent, but there are encouraging developments for some segments of lorries and buses with commercially ready electric models, said Senior Minister of State for Transport Amy Khor in her ministry’s Committee of Supply debate on Wednesday (Mar 5).
“This is an area where we can do more to catalyse adoption in the next bound of land transport decarbonisation,” she added.
The new Heavy Vehicle Zero Emissions Scheme is for registrations of EHVs with a maximum laden weight of more than 3,500 kg. These can be goods vehicles, goods-cum-passenger vehicles or buses.
For each such vehicle, a total of S$40,000 in incentives will be distributed over three years: S$13,000 in each of the first two years, and S$14,000 in the third.
Meanwhile, the new Electric Heavy Vehicle Charger Grant will co-fund half of the cost of the first 500 private EHV chargers up to a maximum of S$30,000 a charger, with a limit of three chargers per company site.
Companies utilising the grant must install the charger at their place of business and purchase at least one EHV with each charger. The charger must be installed at a designated lorry or coach lot, and have a minimum power rating of 50 kilowatts.
The vehicle incentive and charger grant both run from Jan 1, 2026, to Dec 31, 2028.
Pipe down, charge up
The moves aim to narrow the cost gap between EHVs and those with internal combustion engines – mainly running on diesel – as well as support the deployment of EHV chargers.
SEE ALSO
EHVs can cost two to three times as much as diesel versions. Unlike electric light goods vehicles, most of them require separate charging infrastructure, as they are typically too large for passenger electric vehicle (EV) chargers.
With EHV models now on the market, it is “timely to push for decarbonising this segment to support Singapore’s overall land transport decarbonisation”, said the Land Transport Authority.
Since 2021, cleaner light goods vehicles have received incentives under the Commercial Vehicle Emissions Scheme. In 2024, around half of all new light goods vehicles registered were electric. But, electric heavy goods vehicles made up less than 1 per cent of heavy vehicle registrations.
Singapore has around 52,000 heavy vehicles, which account for about 31 per cent of land transport emissions.
Passenger EV infrastructure will also be expanded. The existing EV Common Charger Grant will be extended from its previous end-2025 expiry date till end-2026, to cover another 1,500 chargers. It defrays half of the cost of charger installation, capped at S$3,000 a charger.
The grant encourages charger installation for passenger cars at non-landed private residences, such as condominiums and apartments.
It previously had a cap of S$4,000 a charger and was to cover up to 2,000 chargers. So far, around 1,700 chargers have been installed via the grant.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
