Save a polar bear -- Rent an electric vehicle in Singapore instead

Smart way to drive demand for electric cars in Singapore

Greenies without the deep pockets to buy an electric vehicle when they're launched later this year can still save the world's polar bears. The electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV hatchbacks will be available for rent by Smart Car Rental, an affiliate company of taxi operator Smart Taxis.

Smart will start this new business with three electric cars for a start, at the rental rate of S$150 a day -- about twice the rate for an equivalent petrol model. It will add at least two more cars, possibly of other makes, later on. Although the rates are expensive, motorists make up for it in terms of petrol savings.

The rental scheme makes electric vehicles a lot more accessible for private drivers, since the Singapore government grants corporate and institutional buyers a tax waiver under a research scheme, but not individuals. Smart Car Rental owner Johnny Harjantho said to The Straits Times that his battery-powered fleet "will give us a unique selling point," as the average motorist without deep pockets is unlikely to be able to afford one. "If we can rent them out more than 15 days a month, we'll make money." His current rental fleet is made up of 10 compressed natural gas (CNG) cars and more than 50 petrol cars. The i-MiEV, on the other hand, is a zero-emissions vehicle. Even when taking into account CO2 emissions at the power plants which generate the power needed for charging the car, it emits approximately 30% of the CO2 of a petrol city car.

In the meantime, other parties are also looking at leasing electric vehicles to benefit from revised tax incentives for experimental green vehicles. Multi-brand motor group Wearnes, for example, is working on a leasing scheme for Renault electric cars.