‘How to get business?’: Motor workshops face uncertain future as Singapore moves towards electric vehicles
SINGAPORE: Mr Khor Joo Heng, 60, was hurrying about his stuffy motor workshop in AutoCity at Sin Ming when he was asked what he would do if Singapore achieved its aim of phasing out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2040.
“Die lah,” he quickly told CNA without missing a step, shuffling from car to lorry wearing stained overalls with tools in hand.
Mr Khor is among a number of traditional motor workshop owners who said they would likely shut down if Singapore’s vehicle population becomes fully electric, attributing it to factors like advancing age and a potentially crippling lack of business.
In particular, the workshop owners pointed to how brand new electric vehicles (EVs) would come with extended warranty periods – longer than some ICE vehicles – and thus be exclusively maintained at authorised agents, ending their stream of customers.
And with no potential successors intending to enter what could be an increasingly niche and costly market, the workshop owners said they were only biding their time before retirement.
Credit: www.channelnewsasia.com