E-trike group bats for more state support

The Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (Evap) is renewing its push for the government’s electric tricycle program, which has stalled as local government units are reportedly reluctant to adopt the technology.

Evap president Rommel Juan said in a statement that industry support is critical given the delay in the first phase of the program, which involves the order of 3,000 units for pilot testing.

“After the bidding in 2013, the results of which should have been released last December, nothing has come out of it yet due to some hitches,” Juan said, alluding to the lukewarm response from LGUs.

The Department of Energy is implementing the $504-million program funded by the Asian Development Bank.

The program is meant to replace an initial batch of some 100,000 of the 3.5 million units of gasoline-powered tricycles in the country.

According to Evap, LGUs apparently find the approved e-trike not practical because of the cost and the size of the vehicles.

Juan said the Evap is open to discuss some revisions of the program and the e-trike itself so that LGUs will be more interested.

“Recognizing that some areas, especially outside of Metro Manila, may not have the wide streets to accommodate the big e-trikes, we have members who offer a variety of options in terms of size, whether three-seaters, five-seaters or six-seaters,” he said.

He added that if price is the concern, Evap also has versions of the e-trike with lead acid batteries instead of the more expensive lithium-ion batteries.

“We really need to push this e-trike program so that more people will be exposed to the benefits of e-trikes in particular and electric vehicles (EVs) in general at the grassroots level,” Juan said.

“If we play our cards right in the development of the EV industry, we could be the manufacturing hub for e-trikes and EV parts and accessories in the region,” he said.

According to Evap, the e-trike program could pump in an additional P22 billion to the domestic economy as it may spawn support industries like body fabrication, tricycle parts and accessories, chassis manufacturing, paint, trims, electric motor supply, batteries, battery charger and infrastructure like charging stations and repair shops.

Also, the Evap is pushing for the passage of an Alternative Fuels Vehicle Law that will grant fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to manufacturers, assemblers and users of electric vehicles.

“Such a measure will make [local EV manufacturers and parts makers] more competitive as we target the export market,” Juan said.