1. As announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam in the 2015 Budget Statement, the Carbon Emissions-Based Vehicle Scheme (CEVS) will be revised for all new cars, taxis and newly imported used cars registered with effect from 1 July 2015.
2. The current scheme was introduced in January 2013 to encourage the purchase of low carbon emission vehicles, and is due to expire on 30 June 2015. To further encourage vehicle buyers to shift to low carbon emission models, rebates and surcharges will be increased for very low and high carbon emission vehicles respectively. Under the revised CEVS, all new cars and imported used cars registered from 1 July 2015 with low carbon emissions of less than or equal to 135g carbon emissions per kilometre (CO2/km[1]) will qualify for rebates of between $5,000 and $30,000[2], which will be offset against the vehicle’s Additional Registration Fee (ARF). Cars with high carbon emissions equal to or more than 186g CO2/km, will incur a registration surcharge of between $5,000 and $30,000.
3. As taxis generally clock higher mileage than cars, the revised CEVS rebate and surcharge for taxis will be higher by 50% to encourage taxi companies to adopt lower carbon emission models for their fleet.
4. The revised rebates and surcharges for the respective CEVS bands are as follows:
| Band | Existing CEVS (Till 30 Jun 2015) | Revised CEVS (From 1 Jul 2015) | Rebates/ | ||||
| Carbon | Cars | Taxis | Carbon | Cars | Taxis | ||
| A1 | Up to 100 | $20,000 | $30,000 | Up to 95 | $30,000 | $45,000 | Rebates |
| A2 | 101-120 | $15,000 | $22,500 | 96-105 | $15,000 | $22,500 | |
| A3 | 121-140 | $10,000 | $15,000 | 106-120 | $10,000 | $15,000 | |
| A4 | 141-160 | $5,000 | $7,500 | 121-135 | $5,000 | $7,500 | |
| B | 161-210 | $0 | $0 | 136-185 | $0 | $0 |
|
| C1 | 211-230 | $5,000 | $7,500 | 186-200 | $5,000 | $7,500 | Surcharges |
| C2 | 231-250 | $10,000 | $15,000 | 201-215 | $10,000 | $15,000 | |
| C3 | 251-270 | $15,000 | $22,500 | 216-230 | $15,000 | $22,500 | |
| C4 | Above 270 | $20,000 | $30,000 | Above 230 | $30,000 | $45,000 | |
5. The revised CEVS will be applicable from 1 July 2015 to 30 June 2017, after which it will be subject to further review.
Annex A: Examples of Existing Car Models in revised CEVS bands
[1] Carbon emissions refer to the release of carbon dioxide from the use of a vehicle and provide a good indicator of the amount of fuel the vehicle uses. The g CO2 /km is a measure that quantifies the weight of carbon dioxide (CO2) released for every kilometre that the vehicle is driven i.e. the vehicle’s fuel efficiency. The more CO2 released over the same distance means more fuel is being used.
[2] CEVS rebate is subject to a minimum ARF payable of $5,000 as cars that have relatively low ARF payable and are already fuel-efficient do not need to be further incentivised.
