PH electric vehicle sales surged nearly six-fold in Q1

Audi Q8 e-tron launched. The new model expands Audi Philippines’ range of 100 percent e-vehicles. EVAP reports that the Philippines is seeing robust sales of e-vehicles. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA  -Sales of electric vehicles (EVs) in the Philippines grew by nearly six times during the first quarter of 2023 compared to last year, growing exponentially as more people moved toward the use of these more environment-friendly vehicles.

Data from the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (Evap) released on Wednesday showed that there were 2,536 EV units sold in the local market from January to March, marking a 495.3-percent growth compared to the 426 EV units sold for the whole of 2022.

Evap president Edmund A. Araga said that this puts the number of EVs in the country today—which includes hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs)—at more than 16,000 units.

“Actually, the problem of our members is on the supply. There are a lot of lined-up orders. The expected delivery ranges from two to three months,” Araga told reporters on the sidelines of the press conference for the upcoming Philippine Vehicle Summit (PEVS) 2023 in October.

Araga added it was still mostly the class A and B markets which are buying EVs in the local market.

“They really understand the benefits of using electric [vehicles]. And that during the pandemic, they are the ones who had the purchasing power,” he said.

“But right now, the classes C and E are trying to catch up. That’s why there are models that are lower [priced],” he said, noting that the prices of the more affordable car models range from P700,000 to P800,000 each today.