Government is studying proposals to extend the zero tariff treatment on pure electric vehicles (EVs) to four-wheeled hybrid EVs as well as to two-wheeled and three-wheeled EVs.
This developed as Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. said the Philippines’ EV sector will grow by 5 to 10 percent in the next decade.
Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella of the Department of Energy (DOE) said the Energy Utilization Management Bureau is working with the Department of Trade and Industry in coming up with a cost-benefit analysis on the tariff elimination on hybrids and two-wheeled and three-wheeled EVs.
“There is a technical working group that will present this to the committee and is now being raised to the Tariff Commission,” Fuentebella told reporters in an interview last week.
The DOE said an executive order is targeted for issuance next month.
Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Isao Sekiguchi, Nissan president for Asean, said he sees the Philippines as one of growing EV markets in the region but needs an incentive policy to thrive.
Sekiguchi said the Philippines is prime for the EV market as it has a young and still growing population.
“(For the) Philippines, I think it will come but what makes the breakthrough to a certain extent is the policy. Specific policy, I would say, one is to give incentive. If you have an old car that has a very old engine but if you buy an EV, government will support partially. That’s what the Hong Kong market is doing. There’s incentive for people to buy and it’s being incentivized especially for those that have old car,” Sekiguchi said.
He added non-fiscal incentives such as special road lanes and coding exemptions can also help further push EVs in the Philippine market.
However, Sekiguchi said price of vehicle and cost of electricity remain a major consideration in convincing people to shift to EVs.
“We forecast the growth of EV in Asean differently from country to country. We see more percentage from Thailand and also from Singapore and also from Vietnam. It is somewhere from 15 to 20 percent. So, Philippines, Indonesia and some other markets in Asean, we still see 5 to 10 percent,” Sekiguchi said.
“But again, it has to come from the combination of one, product attractiveness. Basically, value for money. Whether consumers would choose over gasoline if the cost of petrol is so cheap, why would you want to change your car?” Sekiguchi added.
