“The charging is a serious consideration. Right now the charging takes 45 minutes so there’s downtime,” said Ms Ong, when asked if she would purchase an electric motorcycle after her training.
“A market where there is a standardised battery that is convenient to swap anywhere, like at petrol kiosks, will encourage a lot more people to look into e-motorbikes,” she added.
The market’s reluctance to make the switch can cause speed bumps in Singapore’s plans to phase out fossil-fuel vehicles by 2040, observers said.
CHARGING AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Hoping to help overcome the charging issue, local start-up MO Batteries is testing electric motorcycles with swappable batteries.
The firm said that despite the meagre number of electric motorcycles on the road at the moment, there is keen interest among businesses and within the riding community.
“The feedback we have had so far is overwhelmingly positive. The drivers love the vehicles and the corporations love the fact they are able to reduce their emissions,” said the company’s founder Tom Streitberg.
The company is ready to scale up, but needs to wait on more comprehensive government regulations on charging and batteries.