Bandar Seri Begawan (The Brunei Times/ANN) - Cheap petrol price is a barrier for the introduction of electrical cars, said a senior expert from Mitsubishi Motors said yesterday.
In an interview with The Brunei Times, Hiroshi Masuoka, a senior expert with Mitsubishi Motors Product Strategy Office said the introduction of electrical cars in Brunei Darussalam may be difficult due to the extremely low petrol price in the country.
He said that in Japan and the United States, where the cost of petrol was high, more and more people were turning towards electric cars in order to save money. He said that in Japan, gas was approximately two dollars per litre at the pumps.
"For a given distance, an electric car in Japan is five times cheaper than that of a petrol car," he said. The combination of rebates on an electric car and the savings made on petrol have encouraged the Japanese to start using electrical vehicles.
In Brunei, however, the subsidised cost of petrol is approximately five times less than that of Japan.
Masuoka said that despite those considerations, Bruneians should definitely consider switching to electric cars. "The experience is completely different from driving a petrol car," he said. "For one thing, it is quieter, there's no noise from the engine, there's no shaking (of the car), the performance is high, the acceleration is faster and there are no emissions".
He said that for people who have tried driving an electric car for the first time, "It will be a surprise".
He also reiterated the interest developed countries were taking in electric cars, noting that there were more charging spots being set up in countries such as the US and Japan. "Bruneians should start to think about the environment while driving. People should drive for Earth," he said.
