Mr Chew, 42, chief information officer at NTUC FairPrice, had predicted petrol prices would keep going up.

He put his money where his mouth is, and bought the fuel-sipping Japanese hybrid car for $85,000 in January last year.

He is glad too that his 'green' Prius is less pollutive. But the big plus for him is the fuel-saving factor.

A hybrid car is able to get more mileage because it uses its electric motor in stop-go traffic, and the petrol engine kicks in only when the car is cruising.

'My Prius gets about 25km per litre,' Mr Chew said.

A non-hybrid saloon like the Toyota Corolla averages around 13km per litre while a Honda Civic does about 11km per litre. The Toyota Prius goes for at least 17km to more than 20km per litre.

Because he is often on the road - about 2,000km each month - Mr Chew finds himself spending less now on fuel: about $160 each month.

His previous car, a Toyota Wish, cost him about $400 in monthly fuel costs.

Mr Chew now feels happier to use his car socially, as when he takes his family out for dinner.

He agreed that the upfront payment of a hybrid is higher - about $8,000 to $10,000 more than a similar-sized saloon car. But he said: 'If you plan to drive the car for a long time, this upfront sum will pay for itself.'

Indeed, hybrid cars are selling well here.

Borneo Motors' general manager for customer relations, Ms Angeline Tan, said there has been a 50 per cent increase in hybrid sales since fuel prices rose in July last year.

Its hybrids include the Toyota Prius, Lexus RX400 and Lexus LS600, the last of which has sold out.

It sold about 150 of its hybrid models last year. There is a waiting time of up till November for its Prius due to a shortage of production and increase in global demand.

Kah Motor, too, says its Honda hybrid sales have spiked this year. Its marketing manager, Mr Vincent Ng, said there has been a 176 per cent increase in hybrid sales in the first five months of this year over the same period last year.

A total of 283 Honda Civic hybrid models have been registered this year.

Kah Motor will introduce at least two more hybrid models in the next two years.

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