SINGAPORE — Buyers of cars that produce lower emissions will continue to receive rebates as the existing Vehicular Emissions Scheme (VES) has been extended until Dec 31, 2020, following the apparent success of the scheme in changing consumer behaviour.

In a joint press statement on Wednesday (Oct 30), the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that the scheme — which was at first effective until Dec 31 this year — has been extended until next year to encourage the purchase of “cleaner car models”.

“There will be no change to the scheme during the extension,” NEA and LTA said.

The scheme was introduced on Jan 1 last year to encourage buyers to choose cars with lower emissions across five pollutants. They are:

• Carbon Dioxide

• Hydrocarbons

• Carbon Monoxide

• Nitrogen Oxides

• Particular Matter

EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SCHEME

Highlighting the effectiveness of the scheme, the authorities said that between July last year and June this year, the number of new cars registered in the Certificate of Entitlement (COE) categories A and B that qualify for rebates under VES bands A1 and A2 has “collectively increased by about 60 per cent”.

LTA’s One Motoring site stated that cars or taxis that are bought under VES bands A1 and A2 are given a rebate of S$20,000 and S$10,000 respectively.

Along with the increase in vehicles qualifying for the rebates, the number of new cars subject to surcharges under VES bands C1 and C2 has collectively fallen by about 14 per cent.

These cars are subject to a surcharge of S$10,000 and S$20,000 respectively.

During the extension period until the end of next year, motor dealers are “encouraged to introduce cleaner car models to the market”.

“The scheme will be reviewed regularly, taking into consideration its impact on motorists’ purchasing decisions and advances in vehicle technology,” NEA and LTA said.