THE Department of Energy (DOE) and the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) are pushing to include two and three-wheeled electric vehicles in the executive order on import tariff suspension.
DOE director Patrick Aquino said Executive Order (EO) 12 covers only four-wheeled vehicles in the import tariff suspension for five years.
The EO has reduced prices of some electric cars and Aquino now wants it to also cover tricycles and motorcycles.
“The most accessible electric vehicle would be the two-wheeler. And right now in terms of pricing, we’d like to extend the same privileges granted to four-wheelers to that,” said Aquino.
He added that suspending import tariffs will cut down prices of electric motorcycles which are more commonly used by Filipinos.
EVAP president Edmund Araga added that though electric vehicles remain more expensive in the Philippines compared to neighboring countries, prices have dropped and even the working class people are starting to become interested.
“More inclined ang A and B market kasi they really understand the benefits of using electric. But right now the classes C, D, E are trying to catch up. That’s why there is a model that is lower, that is daily use like a small car on average of P700 to 800,000,” said Araga.
‘100K registered e-vehicles by 2028’
The DOE sees the Philippines will have 100,000 e-vehicle registrations by 2028, backed by government policies that will support the growth of e-vehicle industry in the country.
Aquino said it is expected that majority of these e-vehicle registrations will come from motorcycles.
Citing the figures from the Land Transportation Office, Aquino said there are 9,666 registered e-vehicles last year, 8,100 of which are two- and three-wheelers.
“From the government perspective, we’re looking at livelier sector,” he said.
He added that with the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act now in place, the implementation of the Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry as well as other programs, such as the Vehicles Fuel Economy Labeling Program and the Fuel Economy Performance Rating, will help in accelerating the adoption of e-vehicles in the country. (ABS-CBN News/PNA)/PN
