The Philippines expects to make a major leap into the production and sales of electric vehicles starting this year with the entry of the e-cars of Nissan Motor Philippine Inc. and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp.
“We’re expecting that the entry of these e-cars of Nissan and Mitsubishi will prop up patronage of e-vehicle in the country, on top of locally-manufactured trikes, motorcycles and even e-jeepneys and e-buses,” said Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines president Rommel Juan Tuesday at the opening of the two-day Philippine EV Summit in Manila.
“Nissan, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, BYD and Minghong Vehicles are bringing in their electric cars and SUVs. Star 8 has been very busy selling electric jeepneys to the LGUs nationwide while BEMAC continues to promote its electric tricycles and Softbank EV,” he said.
“QEV Inc. now has an EV powertrain for the modern PUJ while Unioil and CharIn are bringing in battery charging technology. DoE, Meralco, QEV, and Unioil have been busy setting up the most important EV infrastructure in place, battery charging and swapping stations in strategic locations. Beep has its automated fare collection system while Infineon Technology has the modern gadgets available,” he added.
Citing the latest report of global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, Juan said global electric car sales hit 1.2 million in 2017 with battery electric vehicles making up the majority of sales.
Global electric car sales would reach 1.6 million units this year and while the number of public charging stations would hit 100,000, the report said.
There are now 3.3 million electric cars in use around the world. China and Europe together make up about 75 percent of the global EV market.
The group is optimistic the recently enacted Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law exempting electric vehicles from the excise tax will pave the way for more affordable EV models and increased investments in supporting infrastructure, which will help sustain the momentum for electric mobility.
“The Department of Transportation’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program is in full swing, targeting to upgrade some 200,000 public utility jeepneys during the next six years, about 10 percent of which will be electric,” Juan said.