The Straits Times
Electrified car Tesla spanked with $15,000 tax surcharge
Mr Nguyen with the used Tesla Model S, which he sourced from Hong Kong for close to $400,000. The Model S is granted tax cracks in several countries – for example, in Britain, buyers get a $8,800 grant. PHOTO: LINDA CHOO
Electrified car is the very first tailpipe emission-free vehicle to be penalised thus in Singapore
An electrified car which attracts tax violates in several countries has been spanked with a tax surcharge in Singapore.
The Model S – a sedan made by California-based Tesla Motors – is the very first tailpipe emission-free car to be penalised this way here.
Mr Joe Nguyen, 44, registered a used Model S he sourced from Hong Kong just before Chinese Fresh Year. He was shocked that the car – for which he paid close to $400,000 – was liable for a $15,000 carbon surcharge.
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“Honestly, it’s stupid,” said the senior vice-president with an Internet research rock hard. “I went back to them (Land Transport Authority), and they cited a UN emission test regulation. They also factored in carbon emissions at the power station. We don’t apply a carbon penalty to people charging their iPhones, do we?”
In response to queries, an LTA spokesman said: “Based on tests conducted under the UNECE R101 standards, the electrified energy consumption of his imported used Tesla car was four hundred forty four watt-hour/km.”
To “account for CO2 emissions during the electrical play generation process”, the spokesman said, “a grid emission factor of 0.5g/watt-hour was also applied to the electrical energy consumption”.
From this, it was determined that Mr Nguyen’s Tesla produced 222g/km of CO2, putting it within the $15,000 surcharge band under Singapore’s Carbon Emission- based Vehicle Scheme. The LTA applied this grid factor once previously to an electrified Peugeot Ion (a subcompact hatchback), and it was granted a carbon rebate of $20,000.
The BMW i3 electrical hatchback and i8 plug-in hybrid both qualify for a $30,000 carbon rebate.
Mr Nguyen, married with three sons, said he paid the surcharge because he “didn’t want to wait any longer”. It had taken him more than half a year from the time he imported the car last July to get it approved and registered for use on the road.
He had to shuttle inbetween LTA, the Energy Market Authority and vehicle inspection centre Vicom in the process. Before the car was approved, he had to give an undertaking that he would recharge it only at his home – a cluster housing.
On the long process, LTA said “this is the very first time a Tesla Model S has been tested for emissions”.
The Model S is granted tax cracks in several countries. In Britain, buyers get a £4,500 (S$8,800) grant, and in the United States, they get a US$7,500 (S$Ten,400) income tax credit. Hong Kong waives registration tax for electrified cars, which can be as high as one hundred fifteen per cent of value. In Norway, a Model S gets a tax exemption of around US$135,000.
Mr Nguyen has posted an “open letter” online outlining his difficulty in registering the Tesla as well as his beef over the tax surcharge.
“I’ve given up on getting the money back,” he told The Straits Times. “I just want LTA to improve. There is a lot of interest in the Model S.”
Commenting on the case, Nanyang Business School adjunct associate professor Zafar Momin said: “Given Singapore’s land size, superb infrastructure and commitment to sustainability, we would not only have been the ideal test bed for electrified vehicles (EVs), but also an ideal market for their broader application and usage.
While we have initiatives and incentives for EVs, we may already have missed the big chance to be a leader in EVs as a nation. The Tesla importation case is perhaps indicative of why we may have missed the chance.”