|
| all news articles | by topics |
|
news
articles about singapore's wild places
|
| Today
Online 4 Oct
05 It's now twice as nice to go green Lee U-Wen u-wen@newstoday.com.sg Tax rebates for eco-friendly cars doubled to encourage purchase of green vehicles. THE next time you buy a car, you might want to consider going green. To make environmentally-friendly cars more attractive to drivers here, the Government has doubled rebates for green car owners to 40 per cent of the vehicle's open market value, which can be used to offset registration fees and taxes. The incentive comes under the Green Vehicle Rebate (GVR) scheme introduced four years ago, which has been extended for another two years until the end of 2007. With the higher rebates, however, the existing road tax rebates for all green vehicles will no longer apply. Environment and Water Resources Minister Dr Yaacob Ibrahim announced this at the first World Hydrogen Technologies Convention yesterday. Green cars such as hybrid ones run on petrol, but use less of it compared to conventional cars. This means less pollutants and carbon dioxide are released into the air. As of August this year, just 79 green vehicles have been registered — 71 hybrid cars, 7 compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles and one electric vehicle. The main factor keeping Singaporeans away from such cars is their high cost, said the National Environment Agency. The latest GVR move is another attempt to narrow the cost difference between green and conventional vehicles. The additional 20-per-cent rebate would bring the total discount for a Honda Civic Hybrid, for example, to about $10,000, said Mr Vincent Ng, product manager at Kah Motor. Before the additional rebate, it cost $13,000 more than a conventional Civic. But will Singaporeans bite? Singapore Environment Council president Howard Shaw thinks the incentives seem to have come at the right time. "With today's rising fuel prices, which I think will never return to the levels they were at five years ago, it's not just about the savings from the rebates now. Saving on fuel will be a big incentive as well," he said. Still, these savings will kick in only later. Mr Ng did a simple calculation: "If you drive a Honda Civic Hybrid for 25,000km a year, and use Unleaded 92 fuel at today's rate of $1.782 per litre, you will need about six-and-a-half years to break even, to recoup the additional $7,000 to $8,000 you spent to buy the hybrid." Singaporeans, he said, typically will not pay more in order to save later. "Unless you are a high-mileage driver, most feel it's better to have cash in the pocket now. But hybrids are better, of course. A Civic Hybrid gives you 6 km more per litre, compared to a conventional Civic auto," he explained. links Related articles on Singapore: green energy |
| News articles are reproduced for non-profit educational purposes. | |
website©ria tan 2003 www.wildsingapore.com |