Beginning January 1, 2025, Singapore will prohibit the registration of new diesel cars and taxis, a significant step toward the government’s goal of transitioning all vehicles to cleaner energy by 2040. This initiative was previously announced during a parliamentary debate on environmental sustainability in March 2021.

Currently, new diesel vehicle registrations comprise less than 1% of the total, reflecting the availability of cleaner alternatives, according to the Land Transport Authority (LTA). All new vehicles registered in Singapore must be cleaner energy models by 2030.

Existing diesel vehicle owners will be able to renew their certificate of entitlement (COE) post-2025 but will face increased road taxes aimed at discouraging this practice. This policy includes a surcharge of 10% to 50% for vehicles over 10 years old, based on their age.

Notably, the ban on new diesel registrations does not affect vehicles registered under the Classic Vehicle and Vintage Vehicle schemes, which apply to cars over 35 years old and those manufactured before 1940, respectively.

As of May 2024, there were approximately 19,972 diesel cars and taxis on Singapore’s roads, a small fraction of the 164,759 diesel vehicles in total. Diesel vehicles constitute about 17% of all vehicles in Singapore, with pure diesel passenger cars making up only 2.7% of the passenger vehicle population.

While diesel taxis were once the norm, many have transitioned to petrol-electric hybrid or fully electric models, with 16.8% of the 13,330 taxis still running on diesel as of May.

To promote cleaner alternatives among commercial vehicles, the government has introduced programs like the Early Turnover Scheme (ETS) and the Commercial Vehicle Emissions Scheme (CVES). These initiatives provide incentives for owners to replace older diesel vehicles with newer, cleaner models.

LTA has also committed to purchasing only cleaner energy public buses, aiming to replace half of its nearly 6,000 diesel-powered buses with electric ones by 2030. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung noted that transitioning all light vehicles, including cars and taxis, to electric could significantly reduce Singapore’s carbon emissions by up to 2 million tonnes annually, equating to about 4% of the nation’s total emissions.