Japanese firm registers first electric tricycle in LTO

LTO Assistant Secretary Virginia Torres (middle), and BEET President and CEO Tokushi Nakashima (leftmost) test the BEET electric tricycle. Contributed photo

BEET Philippine Inc., a Japanese electric vehicle startup company, has successfully registered its electric tricycle with the Land Transportation Office (LTO), offering road-worthy electric tricycles powered by lithium battery and AC motor that could be driven almost anywhere in the country.

The LTO-registered BEET e-trike has five main components, such as the lithium ion battery, AC motor, inverter, vehicle control unit (VCU), and battery management system (BMS), which keep the e-trike stable through various road and weather conditions.

“These components will be provided by the leading companies from Japan with great considerations for safety. The latest technology allows lithium ion batteries to run stable under high temperature and humidity climates, while the BMS has safety functions to control irregular battery conditions. Air-cooled AC motors, which are more powerful, allow drivers to drive up a steep incline easily,” explains Tokushi Nakashima, President and CEO of BEET Philippine Inc.

He adds, “The inverter controls the motor resulting in an increased efficient power conversion.

The VCU with its fail-safe function manages and controls the whole vehicle and makes regenerative braking possible. Various problems related to batteries, motor controllers, or the motor can be solved using BEET’s advanced technology.”

Nakashima has 15 years of electric vehicle development experience in Japan, and established BEET Philippine Inc. last March 2013 to popularize the use of commercial electric vehicles in the Philippines.

BEET is the first Japanese company in the Philippines to register an electric tricycle.

Nakashima met with LTO Assistant Secretary Virginia Torres and LTO Operations Division Officer-in-Charge Menelia Mortel. Torres expressed her enthusiasm about BEET’s current operations in the Philippines, and her confidence in the quality of technology used in the e-trike.

BEET has committed to investing Php4.4 billion (¥10 B) in the Philippines, and plans to produce an initial batch of 5,000 electric tricycles, which are expected to be commercially available by April 2014. BEET looks to hire 1,000 employees and produce 150,000 electric tricycles within the next five years.

In the Philippines, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has already announced it would finance 100,000 units for electric tricycles. Also, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has already approved a P21.67 billion project to promote sustainable urban transport and achieve energy efficiency based on the Market Transformation through Introduction of Energy Efficient Electric Tricycle (E-Trike) Project. It is expected that the 3.5 million gasoline tricycles in the country will gradually be replaced with electric tricycles as a solution for air and noise pollution.

Currently, four companies from Japan, Korea, and Taiwan have announced their interest in this business. Accurate vehicle design and safety standards considering the local transportation situation can be achieved based on strict electric vehicle regulations and laws.

“BEET continues to gather data from tricycle drivers and this data are used for product development, as BEET E-trikes are designed to meet local needs. BEET continually makes efforts to increase driver’s income and reduce fuel expenses to improve the driver’s livelihood and the environment as well,” explains Nakashima.

He continues, “BEET’s vision is to support the local people, protect the environment, develop a new industry, and generate new jobs in developing countries by developing electric vehicles based on market conditions in each country. Our mission is to lead innovation through our etrikes in the Philippines while incorporating the various latest technologies. The Philippines will become the first country where we hope BEET can make a positive contribution to the environment and to economic development.  We are looking to expand our business in Asia, and from there to other regions around the world.”