The Electric Truck Grant Changed on 3 September. Here Is What It Means for You

What changed, exactly

HVZES covers zero-tailpipe-emission vehicles above 3,500 kg maximum laden weight — electric lorries, larger vans and buses. Until now, every qualifying vehicle received S$40,000.

From 3 September 2026, the scheme splits into two bands by weight.

3,500 kg to 7,000 kg maximum laden weight

Now S$15,000, paid as S$5,000 at registration, S$5,000 at the first anniversary and S$5,000 at the second. This band covers most 10-to-14-foot electric lorries and larger vans on the market. Applies to COEs from the September 2026 bidding onwards, and to non-COE vehicles (such as school buses) registered on or after 3 September.

Above 7,000 kg maximum laden weight

Unchanged: the full S$40,000, paid as S$13,000 at registration, S$13,000 in year two and S$14,000 in year three.

Light vans up to 3,500 kg

Not part of HVZES at all — the separate S$15,000 CVES incentive for the cleanest band continues as before.

The transition rule worth reading twice

LTA's release contains one sentence that matters more than the rest: vehicles registered using COEs obtained before the first September 2026 bidding exercise will continue to receive the S$40,000 incentive, regardless of weight.

In plain terms: if you secured a COE before September's first bidding and register a 3.5-to-7-tonne electric truck on it, you still get the full S$40,000 — S$25,000 more than a buyer who bids for a COE now.

If that is you, do not let the COE lapse while you deliberate. The grant difference alone is likely larger than anything you would save by waiting.

Why LTA made the change

The official reasoning: lighter electric trucks now have plenty of models on the market, and their prices have moved much closer to their diesel equivalents — so the same size of subsidy is no longer needed to close the gap.

That reasoning cuts both ways, and it is worth being straight about. The subsidy is smaller because the underlying economics got better. An electric truck still costs a fraction of a diesel to run per kilometre; what changed is how much of the purchase price the government tops up.

It also quietly makes the heaviest electric vehicles more attractive in relative terms: above 7,000 kg, nothing changed, and S$40,000 now stands out.

What this means if you are deciding now

The arithmetic on a lighter electric truck has shifted by S$25,000, and there is no way to dress that up. For some operators the sums still work comfortably on running costs alone; for others the decision just got genuinely closer, and an honest dealer should say so.

The numbers on our website and in Kimi's quotes were updated the night the change was announced, so what you see is the post-change figure — not a stale S$40,000 that evaporates at registration.

As with every government amount on this page: these figures are policy, policy changes, and the official source below is the final word. Confirm before you commit.

Check it yourself

The official sources for everything above. Rules change — these are the pages that will be right when this one has gone stale.

• LTA news release — Adjustments to the Heavy Vehicle Zero Emissions Scheme

  The official announcement, including the incentive tables.