Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. has sought the same treatment the government gives to electric vehicle when it reduced the excise tax for hybrid electric vehicles to zero from the current 30 percent.
Toyota president Satoru Suzuki said the current tax regime favored full electric vehicles, which are exempt from paying excise tax under TRAIN 1.
“We need support from the government if we are to continue bringing in environmentally-sustainable products/models into the Philippines. We want the same treatment they give to full electric vehicles,” he said Wednesday at the sidelines of the Toyota HEV Conference held in Bonifacio Global City.
The company noted that private hybrid cars were still taxed 30 percent compared with public utility hybrid vehicles that enjoyed a 50-percent cut in excise tax to 15 percent.
Suzuki conceded that sales of hybrid cars in the Philippines, especially Toyota HEV, had been slow in the past years, with just 300 units sold since their introduction in 2000. Toyota sold only 7 HEV units in 2018.
