SINGAPORE: Electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for 57.6 per cent of the 13,322 new cars registered in the first three months of 2026, outnumbering combustion engine and hybrid models for the first time in Singapore.
This is a leap from the 45 per cent recorded in 2025, 18.1 per cent in 2023, 11.7 per cent in 2022 and just 3.8 per cent in 2021.
In the first quarter of 2026, 7,679 new electric cars were registered in Singapore.
Chinese giant BYD registered 3,239 units, or nearly one in four (24.3 per cent) total registrations, extending its dominance from a 21.2 per cent market share at the end of 2025.
Based on Land Transport Authority registration data published on Friday (April 24), three other Chinese brands – Chery (7th), GAC (8th) and MG (9th) – joined BYD for the first time in the top 10 selling car brands in Singapore, displacing some South Korean and Japanese brands.
Despite having limited EV offerings, Toyota retained its second position with 1,932 registrations and a market share of 14.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 – marking a 0.3 percentage point improvement over 2025.
American EV brand Tesla captured 11.4 per cent of the market with 1,515 registrations, making it the third best-selling brand in Singapore, up from sixth in 2025.
Mercedes-Benz, in fourth, had 6.4 per cent of the total car market, and BMW, in fifth, had 6.2 per cent as the two German brands exchanged positions from their 2025 standings.
Honda slipped one position to sixth with a 5.1 per cent market share, while Nissan rounded out the top 10 in 10th place with a 2.6 per cent market share.
Under current schemes intended to lower the cost of buying an EV, consumers get as much as $30,000 in rebates off upfront vehicle taxes. In contrast, non-EVs can be penalised by up to $35,000, based on their emission levels.
Chinese EV brands have also been successful in taking advantage of the certificate of entitlement (COE) system by offering models that fit in the Category A COE bracket, which typically costs less than a Category B COE. - The Straits Times/ANN
