Faster charging, fewer apps: Tesla opens chargers to other EVs; SimplyGo rolls out search and pay

SINGAPORE – Electric vehicle (EV) drivers can now access more charging options, as Tesla opens its high-speed charging bays to all EV owners and the SimplyGo app makes it easier to locate chargers and pay across six operators.

The moves are a small step towards a more unified charging landscape in Singapore.

There are 28 EV charging operators listed in the Land Transport Authority’s MyTransport app. Most have their own proprietary smartphone apps and require users to sign up and pay a deposit.

The four EV Tesla charging spaces at Dunearn Village, a shopping mall in the Bukit Timah area, started operating in early October.

Drivers have to download the Tesla app to use the service.

Depending on the time of day, it costs between 63 cents and 91 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for non-Tesla vehicles, compared with 47 cents to 67 cents per kWh for Tesla owners.

These are high-speed chargers rated at 250kW, capable of adding over 280km of driving range with 15 minutes of charging. Most fast chargers in Singapore’s public EV charging network are rated between 50kW and 120kW.

The other 18 Tesla EV charging sites remain exclusive to Tesla vehicles. The company did not comment when asked whether it planned to open them to other EVs.

Tesla’s global charging network was initially exclusive to its EVs. In more recent years, however, the company has opened some of its charging points to other brands of EVs in places like Australia, Malaysia and various European countries.

Meanwhile, public transit platform SimplyGo has made it easier for EV drivers to locate available charging points and pay for charging across six operators: Busways, Busways Public, G. Tech, City Energy Go, MNL Asia and EV Mobility.

This feature was rolled out on its app in early October.

EV drivers have access to over 1,100 charging points in 332 locations, mostly in condominiums and commercial buildings.

However, larger operators like Charge+, CDG Energy, Shell Recharge and SP Mobility, which have charging points in Housing Board carparks, are not on the SimplyGo platform.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a SimplyGo spokesperson said that it is working to bring more operators onboard.

In terms of performance, the chargers listed on the SimplyGo app range from 7kW alternating current chargers to 240kW direct current chargers. It costs between 30 cents and 86 cents per kWh to use them, depending on the location, operator and charger type.

Some of the charging points on the app are not open to the public. A SimplyGo spokesperson said that access is subject to individual access rules for each location.

Walter Theseira, a transport economist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said that it is technologically possible for a single app to handle charging and payment across operators.

However, the larger operators may prefer to keep users within their own apps and platforms to control user data, sell more services to customers, or achieve economies of scale.

He is therefore not surprised that the operators who agreed to be on the SimplyGo app so far are the smaller companies that may have less control over their users.

On Tesla’s decision to open up its chargers to non-Tesla drivers, Theseira said the move made sense as the company’s charging network expands. While the brand’s proprietary charging network was previously a useful differentiator that helped drive Tesla EV sales, he said that the appeal has diminished with Singapore’s growing public charging network.

He noted that Tesla calibrates its EV charging rates, offering significant discounts during off-peak periods to manage demand and reduce long waits. Other operators, by contrast, charge a fixed rate.

While Tesla’s charging rates are higher than before, he said that they are still generally cheaper than other providers in the same area.

Samuel Ong, who has been a Tesla owner since 2021, said that having to download different smartphone apps and sign up with individual charging service operators is an annoyance. While he hopes for a unified payment system for EV charging, he believes that the authorities will have to step in because the large operators will not introduce one voluntarily.

The 39-year-old business consultant has downloaded eight charging apps but relies on three operators – SP Mobility, Great Charge and Tesla. His decision on which operator to use depends on convenience and the total cost of charging, which includes parking fees.

Ong is not bothered by Tesla’s decision to open its chargers to non-Tesla EVs, as Tesla owners still enjoy cheaper charging rates. He believes that Tesla plays a useful role in Singapore’s public EV charging network, and that its presence “keeps the bigger operators in check”.

For some EV owners, having multiple apps is not an issue.

Ler Hwee Tiong, director of an automotive after-market workshop chain, usually charges his EV at home.

However, the 56-year-old has downloaded a few apps “in case of emergency”.

Leslie Chang, 63, who drives an Opel Corsa-e, occasionally needs to charge on the go because the vehicle has a range of less than 300km.

He charges just enough to get home or to the office, where he usually plugs in his car.

While the watch distributor can put up with the slight inconvenience of switching between apps, he said it would be nice to have a smoother charging experience.