More foreign firms setting up EV facilities in PH, Evap says

The Philippines is in a good position to become the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia as more foreign firms continue to set up their respective facilities in the country, the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (Evap) said Monday.

“Today, many Japanese EV companies have actually set up shop in the Philippines because they have identified the country as having the potential to have a huge domestic EV market,” Evap president Rommel Juan said in a statement.

“Companies such as Bemac Philippines, Prozza Hirose and Terra Motors are all now set up in the Philippines and are offering their various electric tricycles and electric motorbikes in the domestic market,” Juan said.

“There is a strong possibility that the Philippines will become the EV manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia,” he added.

Juan explained that once the EV industry goes full blast, it is poised to employ nearly 10,000 Filipinos and generate as much as P16 billion in additional tax revenues, inclusive of those in the upstream and downstream industries.

“But for this to happen, we need to have both fiscal and nonfiscal incentives first similar to or better than those in our Asean neighbors,” he said.

“That is why Evap is pushing for the passage of the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Incentives Bills now pending in both Houses of Congress which promise to give perks to take the industry to the next level. These and all other related issues will be addressed during the forthcoming EV Summit 2015,” Juan added.

Evap will stage its annual Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit on Feb. 26-27 to gather in a single venue all EV players in the country.

“It brings together both local and foreign EV industry players under one roof and they share best business practices and the latest in EV technology. In fact, many business partnerships and joint ventures between local and foreign EV companies today were forged during the previous EV Summits,” Juan said.