OCBC, NUS commence study to encourage EV adoption in Singapore

A total of 32,000 OCBC customers are expected to participate in the study.

OCBC and the National University of Singapore (NUS) have announced a study on the most effective ways to get Singaporeans to adopt electric vehicles.

It is expected that 32,000 OCBC customers will contribute to the three-month study, with OCBC and NUS touting it aSingapore’s largest dedicated study to encourage EV adoption. The full research paper is expected to be released in Q2 2023.

The study aims to uncover nudges that best push consumers to make the switch to EVs, such as concerns over cost of EV ownership in the long-run or climate-damaging carbon emission levels of petrol and diesel vehicles. 

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The persuasiveness of the different factors will reportedly be gauged by studying anonymised data from the 32,000 customers. These include transit spending, fuel purchases on OCBC cards and EV transition rate, according to OCBC and NUS.

Associate Professor Alberto Salvo from the Department of Economics at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences will lead the NUS research team. The team also comprises GAI environmental and behavioural economists, along with an expert on the US and Chinese EV markets from Cornell University.

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Currently, EVs represent less than one per cent of Singapore's total car population according to Singapore’s Land Transport Authority. The study is expected to help businesses and organizations in accelerating adoption of EVs in order to meet Singapore’s goal of phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.