BYD Poised To Widen Lead Over Toyota And Tesla In Singapore After EV Incentives Extended

BYD looks poised to pull further ahead of Toyota Motor and Tesla in Singapore after the government extended two major electric vehicle incentive programs to push drivers toward cleaner cars.

In a joint statement on Monday, the Land Transport Authority and National Environment Agency said the Vehicular Emissions Scheme will now run through the end of 2027, but rebates will only go to fully electric models. 

Hybrids will lose their perks, while higher-polluting cars will face steeper penalties.

The separate Electric Vehicle Early Adoption Incentive will remain in place until the end of 2026, although the maximum rebate will be reduced to SG$7,500 from SG$15,000. After that, it will come to an end entirely. 

Even with the reductions, buyers who switch to EVs can still save as much as SG$30,000 in 2026 and SG$20,000 in 2027 once both schemes are factored in. The $0 Additional Registration Fee floor for EVs and taxis will also be maintained through 2027.

The measures support Singapore’s target of 100% cleaner-energy vehicles by 2040 and net-zero emissions by 2050. EV adoption has already accelerated, with 80% of newly registered cars and taxis between January and August 2025 being cleaner-energy models, approximately half of which are electric.

BYD overtook Toyota in 2024 as Singapore’s top-selling brand, aided by competitive pricing and tech-loaded models that undercut Western and Japanese rivals, according to a Bloomberg report.

“This is something the mass market Japanese and Korean carmakers have been lagging on,” said Walter Edgar Theseira, associate professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.

Chinese automakers are also using aggressive deals to lure buyers as they expand overseas amid domestic competition, according to the Singapore Vehicle Traders Association. 

New entrants, such as Jiangxi Jiangling Group’s JMEV, which launched its Elight sedan in July, and Nio, planning to introduce its Firefly compact EV in early 2026, are expected to further intensify competition.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for BYD was ‘bearish’ with ‘normal’ message volume, while Toyota and Tesla both saw ‘neutral’ sentiment amid ‘high’ message volume.

So far this year, BYD shares are up 21.8%, Toyota has gained 5%, while Tesla is down 14.1%.

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