Endoh’s Dungeon

It’s quite interesting to see how the Green Wave is sweeping Singapore, with a good dose of promotion with regards to greener vehicles on our roads. Without a doubt, Singapore is losing out far behind other countries when it comes to such technology.Can Singapore catch up?

Singapore has been preaching alot about CNG cars and today, we see quite a fair amount of CNG taxis zooming through our streets. Some efforts have been put into promoting CNG cars in an attempt to convince car owners on being more environmentally conscious. But how many CNG cars are we looking at on our streets practically? Personally, to chance upon a CNG car on Singapore roads is still relatively a rare opportunity. Are our car owners too stubborn to take heed of environmental concerns? Or could there be other reasons why we are not fascinated by the CNG cars?

I was in the taxi that day, and I happened to have a chat with the driver. When it comes to CNG taxis, he is full of complaints and I can understand his refusal to use a CNG taxi instead of the diesel taxi he is earning a living from. As of now, CNG car owners can only look towards Jurong Island to refuel their natural gas. To taxi drivers whose income depends on the amount of time on the streets, that’s a complete waste of time. Who is going to compensate them for the time to and fro Jurong Island with little passengers in that area? The other thing is, Jurong Island has tight security ever since WTC was brought down in New York. While we understand the importance of Jurong Island being the gem of Singapore’s economy, tight security is inevitable. Yet realistically, who would want to go through all that hassle - just to top up a vehicle fuel tank?

C. Melchers CmbH is the only German company in Singapore converting cars to run on CNG with Galileo technology. Conversion cost approximately SGD$2,000 and takes only a day of your time. It was said that given the savings, a car owner may look to recuperate that conversion cost over a period of 14 months. A saving always sounds good for any car owner, since prices of car in Singapore are relatively high compared to other countries without COE. Doesn’t matter that the car jams are not any lesser than before COE was implemented.

Of course, the main attraction about CNG cars is not about the cost savings but how gentle it is on our already polluted environment. The CNG car is said to emit 20% less poisonous smoke. For the health conscious, this is a very good spell indeed. How can such a fantastic technology not win the hearts of car owners here? Are Singapore car owners inhumane not to use a CNG car?

I actually found the simple answer, with just a glimpse down the price list. Take for example, the much acclaimed Honda Civic Hybrid. A 1.3L Honda Civic Hybrid cost a promotional price from SGD$72,800 and in comparison, a 1.5L Honda Civic VTi cost $67,500. That’s a difference of SGD$5,300. It’s not a lot of difference, but let’s not forget the additional administrative charges and loan interest which will increase that amount.

On the other hand, a 1.5L Toyota Prius Hybrid powered by the Toyota Hybrid System commands a massive price-tag of between SGD$93,000 to SGD$94,000. Compare that, it’s additional SGD$33,000 from the 1.6L Toyota Corolla Altis retailing at about SGD$60,000.

It’s not hard to see why Singaporeans are not picking up CNG cars afterall. Given the massive difference in pricing, the profits from CNG cars are not encouraging the sales of such vehicles on our streets. The conversion cost of SGD$2,000 takes 14 months to recuperate, what about SGD$10,000… or SGD$33,000 for that matter? Will we even see a day that we can recuperate our losses?

It was reported that over time, 5 CNG stations will be constructed all over Singapore to make things convenient for CNG car owners. Will that make CNG cars more appealing? Not to me at least, despite the we-know-it-all environmental issues.

We are living in a country where salaries remain stagnant and ever rising cost of living, that’s being fairly realistic. Citizens are finding way and means to cut our spending, even to save that single cent. Can a more costly vehicle win the hearts by just preaching about environmental concerns? If one is to promote such a technology, first of all we gotta make it affordable for the car owners. In Singapore, the lifespan of a car is short and all the more car owners would want to reduce their losses to the minimum. What’s the point of saving on petrol, only for more money to be stuffed into the pockets of businessman?

This drive towards cleaner roads will need alot more work to be done, besides scientific figures. Our salaries and bank accounts doesn’t reflect the bullish fluctuations in taxes being paid out, would anyone care about how nature-friendly these cars are? Perhaps, profits and “Saving Gaia” should not be put together at all.

Would you?