Singapore (CU)_ Traditional auto workshop owners of Singapore have stated that they will likely close if Singapore’s automobile population becomes all electric. They cited factors such as advancing age and a possibly debilitating lack of business as reasons for their decision. Specifically, the workshop owners indicated that brand-new electric cars (EVs) will come with prolonged warranty terms that are longer than certain ICE vehicles and would thus be maintained only by authorized agents, therefore eliminating their client base.
According to the Singapore Motor Workshop Association (SMWA), 50 to 60 percent of its nearly 2,000 members have suggested they may close if EVs are widely adopted. Mike Keh, the company’s president, said, “Either they stop business or they diversify,” adding that diversification includes transitioning to EV maintenance or other fields such as body repair. He said, “Right now, most of the workshops are run by first-generation owners. They are old already, with no second generation to take over. So, they had no choice. They have to close.” Majority of these traditional workshops focus only in servicing ICE cars, which necessitates a variety of maintenance jobs at specific age or mileage milestones throughout the course of its existence. However, EVs require far less maintenance due to the absence of an engine and fewer moving components.
Eric Ong, managing director of Precise Auto Services, stated that two of his staff were sent for a basic EV training course conducted by SMWA, which covers areas such as disconnecting the battery and isolating the power supply. He explained, “With this sort of information, there is a chance they may soar someplace else. So, plenty of corporations are additionally fairly reluctant to ship employees for any such upgrading programs”. He added, “For different workshops with homeowners as much as my age, if they cannot cope with all this kind of digital stuff, or in the event that they don’t have any successors for the enterprise, then probably they’ll wrap up.”
Back at AutoCity in Sin Ming, Ricardo Auto Centre director Jeremy Soh feels that widespread adoption of EVs is just a matter of time, stating that his workshop will transition into EV-specific maintenance. This includes aesthetic components like tyres and wheels as well as undercarriage maintenance such as wheel alignments and suspension adjustments. He stated, “For us, we do not intend to simply name it a day. We are going to attempt to pivot to newer areas where you possibly can nonetheless work on EVs”. He added, “We’re additionally doing financing, insurance coverage and issues like that. So, it’s not nearly a workshop for us.”
However, Mr. Soh added that he will not straightaway send his employees to EV programs because they are at present quite basic. He added, “We would even need to ship our boys abroad as a substitute, more reasonably than coaching in Singapore”. While Mr. Keh of SMWA noted that the current EV programs are fundamental, he emphasized that they must first be basic in order to accommodate technicians who may require little formal training, especially because many of them are foreign nationals. He added that SMWA and engineering company Robert Bosch had so far conducted a couple of runs of the programs for as many as 70 technicians.
In reality, Mr. Keh is concerned about the national plan to implement certification programs, since they may be too advanced for technicians. He said, “Since you are coaching somebody solely with main college information, and also you right away wish to go to a diploma course”. Despite this, Mr. Keh suggested that no school can now prepare technicians for the specifics of servicing EVs, citing the fact that EV manufacturers do not promote their vehicle replacement parts, motors, or circuit schematics in Singapore to protect their intellectual property.
