Singapore is targeting 60,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging points by 2030, comprising 40,000 in public car parks and 20,000 on private premises.

Around 30,500 charging points were operational as of March 2026, putting the rollout past the halfway mark. Senior Minister of State for Transport Sun Xueling told Parliament on May 6th that the rollout remains on track. All HDB (Housing & Development Board) towns were EV-ready as of December 2025, and more than 90% of HDB car parks now have charging points.

Local electric vehicle charging operator (EVCO) and infrastructure provider MNL Solutions has deployed 1,000 charge points in Singapore at residential developments including Ris Grandeur, Margaret Ville and One Shenton, as well as at commercial sites such as Heeren, 100AM and Amara Hotel.

For co-founders and directors Lai Yuan Weng and Sathiyamoorthy Nagarajan, the number of EV chargers yet to be deployed is less significant than the changes in client requirements. The discussion around the next phase of Singapore's charging infrastructure rollout has shifted from deployment towards providing electricity and chargers to buildings and car parks that were wired decades before EV charging was considered.

Media representatives spoke to them about this at the launch of their 1,000th charger, held at the office of their technology partner, Schneider Electric.

Singapore's EV charging targets

Against the national target, 1,000 chargers represents a relatively small proportion of the planned charging network. Lai believes the target is achievable but identified several issues that could affect the rollout:

- Reliability
- Electrical capacity at older sites
- Convenient payment
- Transparent pricing
- Ensuring that chargers are installed where drivers need them

The problem drivers never see

When asked what the industry discusses frequently that drivers rarely notice, Lai identified "upstream electrical capacity".

This refers to the foundational power supply, including local building switchboards, transformers and the broader utility grid, required to deliver electricity safely to EV chargers at scale. In Singapore, upstream electrical capacity is a constraint in expanding the national charging network to meet the 2030 targets.

According to Lai:

"Drivers see a charger mounted on a wall, but they do not see the switchboards, protection systems, utility connections, cable routes, electrical calculations, communications infrastructure and approvals required behind it."

Where a legacy estate does not have a multi-phase backbone, work starts with a detailed electrical assessment covering expected charging demand, the incoming supply, spare switchboard capacity, cable routes and the amount of energy residents actually require.

Where demand is sustained, an upgrade may be required, with the new infrastructure serving the estate for years. The type of upgrade is also a consideration. According to Lai, where spare power is limited, several intelligently managed AC chargers can be more suitable than a single high-powered unit.

Dynamic load management and battery-buffered charging are two methods that can help EV charging stations prevent power overloads and operate where electrical grid capacity is limited. However, Lai said that both have limitations.

Dynamic load management can keep a site within its agreed capacity by distributing power among connected vehicles, but it cannot create electrical capacity that does not exist. Battery-buffered charging can reduce a charger's instantaneous demand on a building, but it is a site-specific solution rather than a standard option for every older estate.

Why a condominium may have a fast charger while an HDB block does not

Newer private housing estates often offer fast charging, while older estates may offer only standard charging speeds. The difference can be related to electrical capacity rather than the type of housing. Newer developments tend to have modern switchboards and spare capacity, which can make upgrades less costly. Older buildings can have limited headroom, ageing cables and difficult multi-storey routing. Supporting several fast chargers at such sites can require new feeders, new distribution boards and, in some cases, a transformer upgrade.

This is not a public-versus-private issue, as older private condominiums can face the same constraints as older HDB estates. A 1990s condominium with a basement car park, a congested riser and a distant switchboard can be more difficult to retrofit than a 1980s surface car park with an accessible electrical room.

"Some older developments have straightforward cable routes, accessible electrical rooms and sufficient spare capacity, making them easier than newer sites with highly congested services or distant switchboards," Lai said. Accurate electrical records, physical access, cooperation from the building's Licensed Electrical Worker and early agreement on which parking bays will be used are also required.

EV charging retrofit requirements

A retrofit starts with a scalable design rather than treating a charger as an individual appliance. Most older HDB car parks were built with enough spare electrical capacity for perhaps three to 12 slow chargers at around 7 kW, and no more. A single 50 kW DC charger typically requires a dedicated three-phase supply in the 100 to 150-ampere range or higher.

Six steps have to be completed in order:

- Apply to SP Group to increase the electrical capacity. The approval process has the longest potential timeline in the project. Depending on the requirements, it can also have the highest potential cost, depending on whether a simple upgrade or a full installation is required.

- Install new three-phase feeder cables. These supply AC power from a building's main electrical panel or distribution board to a charging station.

- Install a dedicated EV charging distribution board. This dedicated electrical panel safely splits and manages power from the main electrical supply to feed one or more EV chargers. It requires appropriate protection, metering, surge protection and residual current devices that comply with the latest standards.

- Allocate parking bays and install safety bollards, signage and cabling routes through trenching, conduits or overhead routing in multi-storey car parks. This also involves completing the required construction and retrofitting work.

- Test and commission the system to SS 722:2026, Singapore's updated national standard for EV charging systems. It covers electrical safety, earthing and commissioning, with fire-safety considerations for enclosed areas.

- Add the smart integration layer by connecting the system to a site-level energy management system for monitoring, load control and backend integration.

According to MNL, the project could ultimately cost a six-figure sum once all expenses are calculated. These include:

- The distance involved, which can range from SGD 10,000 to SGD 20,000 (US$ 7,820-15,640) for every 20m required, as well as the capacity cost of around SGD 4,000 per 100 amperes (A).

- Underground cabling, which can range from SGD 20,000 to SGD 30,000 for every 20m required, in addition to the capacity required, with 100A priced at around SGD 5,000.

- The charger itself, which could cost around SGD 10,000.

Charging speed and infrastructure requirements

Singapore is planning for every HDB town to have at least one fast-charging hub by the end of 2027, alongside the wider residential AC charging network. However, drivers continue to request faster charging, while many older estates cannot support higher charging speeds, Lai said.

"The goal here should be to deliver sufficient energy by the time the driver needs the vehicle, rather than providing the highest possible charger rating everywhere."

Lai said that most private cars remain parked for hours while their owners are at home or work, providing an opportunity to charge gradually without requiring a fast charger. For example, a resident who plugs in at 8pm and leaves at 7am may not require a high-powered charger despite its higher cost.

When using AC charging, the actual charging speed depends on the vehicle's onboard charger, battery temperature, state of charge and charging curve. DC charging slows as the battery fills, and many vehicles cannot accept the full output of even a 22 kW AC unit. There are also concerns that frequent use of high-power fast charging can generate additional heat and accelerate battery wear over time.

As a result, the power rating displayed on a charger does not necessarily reflect the charging speed a vehicle receives throughout the charging session.

Grid upgrades remain a major constraint

When asked to identify the constraints whose removal would accelerate the rollout of EV charging infrastructure in the heartlands, Lai pointed to the time, cost and site-by-site coordination required for grid upgrades and service connection work.

Both HDB and SP Group are required to address the issue. HDB can implement bulk or standardised upgrade programmes across estates, while SP Group, as the grid operator, carries out connection and transformer upgrades.

"A coordinated, government-led programme of standardised or pre-emptive electrical capacity upgrades across older heartland estates would be the ideal intervention," Lai concluded.