EV sales in PH grow with 1,000 units sold last year
The Philippine market may not be as well accepting to the fact that electric vehicles (EV) are the future but we surely are catching up with the rest of the world, slowly but surely.
The Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) announced during a recent press conference that 1,013 EVs were sold in the Philippines in 2022. That’s higher than the 843 EVs sold in 2021, and 378 in 2020. The EVAP attributes this growth to the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act or EVIDA.
The EVIDA, or officially Republic Act No. 11697 was implemented after it lapsed into law in April 2022 and eventually enacted in May 2022, with its implementing rules and regulations taking effect in September 2022.
EVIDA incentivizes EV adoption nationwide through allocating dedicated parking slots in establishments, assigning green routes across cities and municipalities, and exempting the vehicles from traffic number coding schemes, among other perks. Public and private sectors have also been working to make charging stations more conveniently accessible to EV owners.
Read: Hyundai Motor PH partners with SM Supermalls for EV Car Parks
“Implementation remains a big challenge as it involves extensive output and promotion,” said Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) President Edmund Araga. “The EV industry is still making necessary adjustments in terms of supplies and infrastructures. Transitions are on the way in terms of regulations being set by different government agencies involved.”
Currently, the Department of Energy (DOE) is working on the ongoing development of the Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry (CREVI), which comes with inter-agency support. The department is also facilitating public consultations regarding the Vehicle Fuel Economy Labeling Program (VFELP) and the Fuel Economy Performance Rating (FEPR).
Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is still preparing its Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy (EVIS) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is keeping its focus on public utility vehicles (PUVs) modernization, with EV as the priority. Other government agencies are taking their share by including EVs into their fleets.
11th Philippine Electrical Vehicle Summit
Also to be held soon is the Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit (PEVS) 2023. Now in its 11th edition, the PEVS is aimed at pushing for wider EV adoption in the country with this upcoming one as its biggest to date.
With the theme ‘Plug-In and Accelerate,’ the 11th PEVS will be held from October 19 to 21 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, Metro Manila. It would be organized and hosted by EVAP with the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) and in partnership with the DOE and Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI).
“Not to be missed is the establishment of the Philippine Battery Consortium, which be launched during PEVS 2023. It is aimed at addressing the important concerns and issues about battery supplies and costs. Of course, the three-day event will be a bigger venue for networking as well as for plenary and moderated discussions, which everyone would surely find helpful,” Araga concluded.
