In PH, Toyota sees few takers of hybrid cars

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) is hoping that a bill granting incentives to manufacturers or importers of alternative-fuel vehicles, including hybrid units, will be enacted into law.

The bill is expected to help boost the local hybrid vehicle market which, according to TMP president Michinobu Sugata, remains “very stagnant, frankly speaking,” given the high cost of each unit.

Based on his estimates, TMP has sold only about 30 units of the Toyota Prius since the vehicle was launched years ago.

“At this moment, we don’t even intend to boost sales of hybrid cars unless we have incentives from the [Philippine] government, like Malaysia or Thailand. For now, this is just [an option] we give to the market,” Sugata explained.

“We don’t expect high sales of our hybrid vehicles, because the price is very high.”

In January this year, the Senate has approved Senate Bill No. 2856, or the Alternative Fuel Vehicles Incentives Act, which grants tax incentives to manufacturers or importers of alternative-fuel vehicles (AFVs) to make such cars more affordable.

Based on an earlier Inquirer report, the proposed Alternative Fuel Vehicles Incentives Act “will usher [in] an era of cheaper, cleaner cars that will reduce the country’s dependency on the use of fossil fuels.”

Under SB 2856, fiscal and nonfiscal incentives will be granted for the importation and manufacture of electric, hybrid and other vehicles using alternative sources of energy such as, but not limited to, solar, wind, hydrogen fuel cell, compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas, methane and liquefied petroleum gas.

Manufacturers and assemblers of such vehicles will also be exempt from the payment of the value-added tax for the purchase and importation of raw materials, spare parts, components and capital equipment used in the manufacture or assembly of AFVs for nine years, the Inquirer had reported.