Vantage Motors Sells BYD

[Atrecord]

wah electric cars...

 

nowadays got so many BlueSG everywhere.

 

what's the standard of the electric car chargers huh? I've never paid any attention to it before, but can try to, let's say, park one of these electric cars, and then 'borrow' the BlueSG cars charging cable to charge or not huh?  

 

Are they compatible or the same? Or is it like last time all the phones like that - Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, etc. all have different charging heads?

[therock]

Some models adhere to a certain standard, but others don't so it's all very messy right now... 

It will be very different if the government steps in to unify things.. 

It's a lot simpler in the EU and California..

[Lotr]

It will be easier for those landed owners, car dealers will even install a charging point FOC as part of the car package. But for condos, my friend has been trying to get his condo estate management to install charging points for a long time but no sound no picture. HDB wise I think would be even more difficult.

They must have a way to make a profit on their investment before installing the infrastructure

[Ct3833]

....

 

Doesn't the management do any research b4 committing to the franchise? Maybe like Tianmo said they r trying their best to make it as empty as the ford showroom

Either they did not, or they have done so but made a conscious decision to take a plunge. We all know EV is not going to get popular anytime soon, it will not be the mainstream vehicle that consumers will buy for many years to come in sgp for a few obvious reasons :

1. Charging points are still not readily available.

2. Even if could find one, one will have to leave his car there for a few hours as compare to 10 mins job visiting a petrol kiosk. This is inconvenience unless the charging point is in the same building as your office.

3. What about weekend? One need to leave his car or drive back his car to his office building for charging.

4. If you drive an EV, I don't believe you would dare to drive into Malaysia unless you have another landed property there having a charging point.

In summary, EV is not going to fly for now, neither is BYD, that means Vantage takes the dealership not for volume game, and they must have knew that this is going to be a niche market instead of a mass market game.

Edited July 14, 2019 by Ct3833

[Hamburger]

I have faith in beautiful cina made car,made no mistake about it.

 

From RR, MB or land rover, pick your choice but is some other badge though .

[therock]

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/transport/warren-buffetts-electric-cars-are-here

 

$133k for the E6 ... that’s considered affordable?

“Mr Chin stressed that Vantage has been careful to differentiate its cars from those operated by HDT. "Taxis are taxis. There are some things we've added to really make it feel like a passenger car," he said. These include upscale features like customisable colours, softer upholstery, a powered tailgate and a touchscreen infotainment system with satellite navigation.”

 

And they aim to sell 30 units a month...

 

I can imagine HDB dwellers pulling very long extension cords from their homes

[Ichibawa]

Full electric. First is need ... landed.

I doubt most condos have the charging port.

 

Got landed, want to try china electric vehicle? I think not even the PRCs will bite haha 

 

I saw some HDB in Simei already have charging ports in the car park and some condos as well. I saw a few charging ports inside Hyflux compound but the kuku thing is that you need to pay for both charging and car park. 

[Kusje]

https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/motoring/ford-agent-lands-byd-dealership

 

I'm excited by the prospects of the introduction of BYD cars, but I'm apprehensive about Vantage Motors as their agent...

Their track record with Ford has not been the best..

 

As for the idea of buying an electric car, there's a whole debate on how green they really are, especially when you take into account the carbon footprint of making the battery and it's disposal.

 

As for buying Chinese, that's ok, there are different levels of QC - their local Chinese market ones can be quite nasty, but their better ones are very impressive. I think they will want to put their best food forward.. and already BYD cars are being used as taxis..

 

Vantage will be pleased, their business has been rather slow recently..

 

 

BTW mods:

BYD is not a selectable option in the list of car brands for discussion...

FYI...

 

I don't think you can blame the distributor for lack of effort with Ford. What Ford vehicles are cost competitive in our market? Ford is very much a truck company - not a car company.

 

Excited about this BYD deal tho - hope there can be more charging infrastructure. Once they start building in HDBs, that's when the electric car revolution starts in SG.

[Ct3833]

Full electric. First is need ... landed.

I doubt most condos have the charging port.

 

Got landed, want to try china electric vehicle? I think not even the PRCs will bite haha

Many PMDs caught fire when charging, even Tesla has at least one reported incident of car catching fire when charging. I dont know how many landed owners would want to risk their house to buy an electric car. Haha

 

One more example here, a Porsche caught fire in Thailand when charging and burnt down nearly half a bungalow. Not trying to be negative, EV technology, in particularly the battery is still not as matured as it should be, so if one wants to buy an EV, go charge in a condo car park, HDB car park or open space, dont charge it in your own multimillion dollars house.

 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1429518/porsche-catches-fire-while-charging

Edited July 15, 2019 by Ct3833

[Kusje]

I saw some HDB in Simei already have charging ports in the car park and some condos as well. I saw a few charging ports inside Hyflux compound but the kuku thing is that you need to pay for both charging and car park. 

 

Why kuku?

 

The chargers are mainly to support their employees la.

[therock]

I’m worried about fires especially when budget buyers take short cuts and buy or install sub spec electric lines. Lower power cables for example .. even Porsche owners can be cheap you know ..

 

Batteries can also burn

 

More dead cars on the road when people forgot to charge or try to make it home without charging ..

[Kusje]

I’m worried about fires especially when budget buyers take short cuts and buy or install sub spec electric lines. Lower power cables for example .. even Porsche owners can be cheap you know ..

 

Batteries can also burn

 

More dead cars on the road when people forgot to charge or try to make it home without charging ..

 

There needs to be some standards for these installations.

 

Right now electrical work in SG needs to be by certified electrical workers. Will they be willing to do substandard and offspec work?

[therock]

There needs to be some standards for these installations.

 

Right now electrical work in SG needs to be by certified electrical workers. Will they be willing to do substandard and offspec work?

I can tell you what most of us already are aware of

The quality of cables, tiles, paint etc vary

Push a vendor too hard and cut his margins, he may do funny stuff

Previously when they use 10a or lower lines for lights it won’t matter much but now it’s a 35-50a line, it’s not cheap and owner may be the ones who ask the installers not to spend so much and that’s where the trouble begins

 

Eg to pull a main copper line 20m into a home will cost 5k ...

[BanCoe]

Most likely they will target govt/ Stat  depts to get them for their offices to show that they walk the green mile  

 

Edited July 15, 2019 by BanCoe

[Ichibawa]

Why kuku?

 

The chargers are mainly to support their employees la.

 

No bro. Those chargers are only occupied by PHV Hyundai Kona Electric.

[Kusje]

No bro. Those chargers are only occupied by PHV Hyundai Kona Electric.

 

Because they have no more employees. hahaha

[Watwheels]

https://www.sgcarmart.com/news/article.php?AID=20503

 

Sure 30mins will give electric cars full charge? I doubt it. So far in other countries the 30mins fast charge gives only 80%. Not exactly full charge. I dont think there will be "range anxiety" given sgp is so small. 30mins is provided there's no queue. How about when there's a queue for the charging point? How long do you have to wait? More than 30mins for sure. In the mean time do what? If more than 30mins wait I take bus I think I reached my destination. What's the point?

[Kusje]

https://www.sgcarmart.com/news/article.php?AID=20503

 

Sure 30mins will give electric cars full charge? I doubt it. So far in other countries the 30mins fast charge gives only 80%. Not exactly full charge. I dont think there will be "range anxiety" given sgp is so small. 30mins is provided there's no queue. How about when there's a queue for the charging point? How long do you have to wait? More than 30mins for sure. In the mean time do what? If more than 30mins wait I take bus I think I reached my destination. What's the point?

 

From the same article.

 

 

 

SP's first wave of 38 charging points are located at commercial buildings, industrial sites and educational institutions.

 

The locations are close to amenities such as food centres, offering drivers greater convenience while waiting for their vehicles to be charged. 

I can tell you what most of us already are aware of

The quality of cables, tiles, paint etc vary

Push a vendor too hard and cut his margins, he may do funny stuff

Previously when they use 10a or lower lines for lights it won’t matter much but now it’s a 35-50a line, it’s not cheap and owner may be the ones who ask the installers not to spend so much and that’s where the trouble begins

 

Eg to pull a main copper line 20m into a home will cost 5k ...

 

Yes, quality always varies. But first need to come up with a proper standard for these home-owners to follow. 

 

Everyone will want cheap but how many vendors are willing to risk their license for some profits in Singapore? There has to be a min standard for safety, beyond that, you can be as cheapo as possible.

 

What's the alternative here? Disallow home owners from installing chargers? We need to plan for the future.

Edited July 15, 2019 by Kusje