6th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit pushes stronger partnerships to electrify public and private transport

Juan added that the rise of electric vehicles on a global scale has ballooned, especially last year. In particular, he highlighted the recent report released by Frost & Sullivan, a global consulting firm. In the said report, it was stated that the sales of electric vehicles in 2017 peaked at 1.2 million, a record high for the emerging sector of the global auto industry. In addition, the majority of the VEs sold last year were battery powered.

Seeing this positive outcome, Juan projected that the rising popularity of EVs will continue this year with an estimated global sales volume of 1.6 million units and 100,000 more public charging stations. Of note, there are now around 3.3 million EVs in use worldwide, with China and Europe taking up 75% of these.

Juan and his organization is capitalizing on this to put the Philippines in the map of the global EV and hybrid vehicle industry, and he’ll start this by forging partnerships with the country’s private and public motoring sectors. These include the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Energy (DOE), Land Transportation Office (LTO), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), as well as key private sectors such as MERALCO, Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI), Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC), and more esteemed companies on a mission to enter the local electric and hybrid vehicle industry.

During the event, several press conferences were held to tackle varied issues and updates concerning the local EV and hybrid vehicle industry. Among these issues is the improved convenience of charging stations in the Philippines.

Of this topic, MERALCO, which was represented in the event by its Vice President Raymond Ravelo was quoted as saying, “Local government units (LGUs) are crafting their own transport modernization programs — including EV charging pods, cashless payment options, GPS systems, among others — in efforts to secure electric tricycles from the DOE. Even Clark Development Corporation (CDC) is developing a master plan that incorporates sustainable mobility within and outside its environment-friendly community.”

Ravelo added that his company is now working hand-in-hand with MMPC, NPI, as well as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in building more charging stations nationwide, particularly in Quezon City, Makati, and Davao.

Another good news which was tackled is the tax exemption of EVs under the new Tax Reform TRAIN Law. Juan sees this as an advantage to propagate the use of EVs in the country.

Finally, the 6^th PEVS also had a gallery of vehicles featuring prototypes of what will become the future of the Philippine Jeepney, the most popular public utility vehicle (PUV) in the country. Guided by the DOTr PUV Modernization Program, these new PUV prototypes came from body builders like Centro and Sarao.

Other activities presented in the 2-day event are as follows.

• Keynote Messages by Senior Government Officials from the Senate of the Philippines, Department of Transportation, Department of Trade & Industry, Department of Energy, on their initiatives to promote sustainable transport.
• EV Technology presentation by Nissan and Mitsubishi showcasing their commitment to delivering smarter, safer, sustainable mobility solutions for the future.
• Discussion by Frost & Sullivan on the current status and future of e-mobility in the Philippines with a broad spectrum of policymakers and industry stakeholders as panel discussants.
• Information exchange from leading EV organizations in Asia on their most recent learnings on EV and EVSE deployments in their jurisdictions.
• Soft launch by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) of their project entitled, “Promotion of Low Carbon Urban Transport Systems in the Philippines”, the objective of which is to create an enabling environment for the commercialization of low carbon urban transport systems, i.e. electric vehicles in the Philippines.
• Updates on the DOTr’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program covering fiscal support to PUV Manufacturers and financing programs for PUV operators, PUVMP standards development; route rationalization as well as presentation of PUVMP prototypes for the benefit of the transport corporations and cooperatives.
• Free exhibit featuring the latest in electric vehicles and supporting infrastructure that are currently sweeping the ASEAN market.

Photos by Randolph de Leon