After a banner year for the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) in 2017 where it successfully hosted the very first ASEAN EV Summit, 2018 looks very bright for the domestic EV industry.

EVAP President Rommel Juan said that the ASEAN EV Summit attracted various international players and organizations in the region, resulting in the organization of the ASEAN Federation of Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Associations (AFEHVA). It likewise finally attracted the mainstream car companies to showcase and promote their EVs and hybrids.

“The year 2018 opened and greeted us with two sets of good news. First was the PUV Modernization Program of the Department of Transportation which mandates that the modern PUV must have either a Euro 4 compliant diesel engine or an electric motor. The second was that electric vehicles were exempted from excise tax while the excise tax for hybrid vehicles was cut by half”.

Juan explains that with these twin positive developments, he foresees that many formal car makers will be pushing their electric cars and EV platforms in the Philippine market very soon.

“One such car maker is Mitsubishi Motors with its i-MiEV and Outlander PHEV. We also caught a glimpse of the Nissan Leaf at the ASEAN EV Summit and we look forward to Nissan’s introduction of the Leaf to the Philippine market soon. And of course, the new excise tax law might be the needed push for Toyota to sell more Prius Hybrids”.

“In the infrastructure front, specifically with respect to battery charging stations, EVAP is happy to note that QEV of the Aboitiz Group, one of the charging infrastructure companies which entered Philippine shores, recently signed a memorandum of agreement with Pilipinas Shell and the SM Group to put up charging stations nationwide. This will surely encourage the use of EVs as the issue of range anxiety will be addressed”.

Juan also reveals that the electric tricycle project is also seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with EV pioneer and now Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Bodie Pulido at the helm in the deployment of DOE ETrikes nationwide.

“Finally, the PUV Modernization is now in full swing. Old, dilapidated jeepneys are being taken off the roads by the DOTr, Metro Manila Development Authority and the Land Transportation Office. This, coupled with President Duterte’s order to rid our streets of Jeepneys that are not roadworthy, will finally open the minds of jeepney drivers and operators to the idea of PUV modernization” he says.

“We are now in close coordination with the DOTr and once their Route Rationalization Plan is released, we will finally be able to determine where e-jeepneys can be deployed. All in all, we expect many developments in the electric vehicle industry in 2018.”