Coding or No Coding: Are mild-hybrids exempt?

Number coding exemption, that’s one of the biggest perks of buying an electrified vehicle ever since Republic Act No. 11697 or the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act, also known as the EVIDA Law for short, was passed into law.

While the intention is good, which is to entice vehicle buyers in the Philippines to switch to hybrids and EVs, one thing seems to have been kept unclear in the law’s implementing rules and regulations (IRR). That’s whether mild hybrid electric vehicles or MHEVs are exempted from the number coding scheme as well.

The number coding scheme, also known as the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP), aims to reduce vehicular traffic on major roads in Metro Manila by disallowing certain vehicles on the road depending on the last number of their license plates. 

EVIDA Law

According to the EVIDA Law, electric vehicles (EV) are defined under Section 5 of the IRR as Battery EVs (BEVs), Hybrid EVs (HEVs), Light EVs (LEVs), and Plug-in Hybrid EVs (PHEVs). 

Exempt or Not?

The Department of Energy in a recently held virtual conference clearly stated that any other type of electric vehicle not mentioned in the above paragraph is NOT exempted from the UVVRP or number coding scheme. This means popular mild-hybrid vehicles sold locally like the Geely Okavango and Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid are not exempt and will be apprehended when driving on their respective coding days.

So why are these mild-hybrids not exempt when they are still hybrid electric vehicles? Well Mild-hybrid EVs (MHEVs) are primarily powered by Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) paired with a supplementary battery or electric motor. The supplementary battery or electric motor does not drive the vehicle and only enhances engine performance and fuel economy unlike HEVs and full EVs which can drive on electric power alone. Being able to drive on electric power alone is part of the definition of being an EV under the IRR.

It is good to note that one very useful proof of number coding exemption is the vehicle’s official registration papers. If the vehicle’s fuel type is indicated as “HYBRID” or “ELECTRIC,” then you’re definitely exempt. 

However, a recent report by our friends from YugaAuto showed that the Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid is registered with its fuel type as “HYBRID” despite it being a mild-hybrid only, automatically making it exempt from number coding. Now we do not know if it is the Land Transportation Office (LTO) or Suzuki Auto Philippines to blame here but we think this should be fixed as this could cause issues in the future.

All that is left now is for the government to release a proper written announcement stating that mild hybrid vehicles are not exempted from number coding. Until then, car manufacturers and buyers will use it as a loophole to say that their cars are exempt. Unless of course they decide to include them as exempt.

So, coding or no coding for mild-hybrids? We don’t know.