Singapore has 36 EV charging companies. Can they all survive?

SINGAPORE: Five years after a government push for cleaner-energy vehicles sparked a rush of new entrants, Singapore's EV charging industry may be entering a new phase: consolidation.Even as electric vehicle sales keep climbing, two high-profile exits of charging operators have raised questions over whether Singapore's market can support the 36 operators now vying for business.ChargEco, which operates more than 1,000 charging points, was acquired in June by SP Mobility, an EV charging company under SP Group. In November last year, TotalEnergies ended its EV charging operations in Singapore, transferring more than 1,400 charging points to other operators.EVs accounted for almost 60 per cent of new car registrations in the first quarter of this year, but made up just 7.4 per cent of the total car population as of 2025. Industry experts said this gap suggests that demand for chargers still lags behind the ambitions of many operators – at least for now.WHY THE MARKET GOT CROWDED

The rush began after then-Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat announced in his February 2020 Budget speech that all new car registrations would need to be cleaner-energy models by 2030. At least 14 EV charging companies have been incorporated since, accounting for almost 40 per cent of the 36 active firms listed on the Land Transport Authority's website as of June this year.Transport economist Walter Theseira said the inflow of new companies was expected, given how rarely the automotive industry offers a chance to break new ground. For instance, the list of authorised major car dealers has stayed largely unchanged since the 1990s.“When the EV plan was announced, it would have become clear to people that this is one of their only opportunities to establish themselves in this market,” said Assoc Prof Theseira of the Singapore University of Social Sciences. “They realised that this is it – if you snooze and miss the moment, it will never come again.”The government has targeted 60,000 EV charging points by 2030, and rolled out a grant in 2021 to co-fund installations at certain premises. The number of charging points grew from about 2,200 in early 2022 to 30,500 as of March this year.