e-Vehicle sector eyes P5-B investments in 5 yrs

The electric vehicle industry in the Philippines may expand investments fivefold to about P5 billion in five years.

Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (Evap) president Rommel Juan said in a briefing that it was possible to achieve that investment size in five years since one member, Japanese-led Bemac Electric Transportation Philippines Inc., had already made significant investments.

“We should reach for the stars. If we miss, we’re still very high—but I think investments will be similar to Bemac. That’s what we want, from the very start of the EV summit, we wanted to bring in foreign investors to the Philippines to help catalyze the industry’s (development) and help us with technology,” Juan said.

Bemac vice president Yvonne Palomar-Castro said the company had invested about P500 million in its Philippine operations and might infuse another P1 billion into the country to produce electric tricycles (e-trike) to be deployed under the e-vehicle program of the Department of Energy (DOE)  and Asian Development Bank (ADB).

E-jeepney rollouts, e-trike deployments, and putting up e-charging stations are among the major components of the e-vehicle roadmap that Evap is pushing. The industry group has crafted the roadmap and is updating it in view of new developments in the industry. The most significant of which was the awarding of a supply contract for 3,000 units of e-tricycles (e-trikes) under the e-vehicle program of the DOE and ADB.

After two tenders and two rounds of price negotiations in four years, Uzushio Electric Co. of Japan (through subsidiary Bemac) clinched a $30-million contract to produce, deliver and service the first batch of e-trikes under the ADB-funded “Market Transformation through the Introduction of Energy-Efficient Electric Vehicles Project,” which targets local government units (LGUs) nationwide. The total amount of e-trikes to be auctioned off under the DOE-ADB e-trike program is 100,000.

Uzushio intends to complete production of the first 1,200 units by mid-year and another 1,800 units to be produced later. Benac will deliver the units to designated beneficiaries under the DOE-ADB program

Juan said he expected other e-vehicle firms to follow Bemac’s example. To further develop the e-vehicle market, players have worked with banks and other institutions to open up financing for e-vehicles, Juan said.

“I am proud to announce that Green EV financing packages are available from Development Bank of the Philippines, Landbank, Orix Metro, CARD, Negosyong Pinoy and Proximity Funding, among others… DBP has just granted a green loan to Tojo Motors,” Juan said.