Industry group sets sight on selling 2.45M EVs by 2028

A local trade association of electric vehicles (EV) and parts manufacturers on Thursday said they are looking to reach sales volume of 2.45 million units by 2028, signaling optimism that local purchases of this cleaner automotive technology will grow exponentially in the next five years.

Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) President Edmund Arraga highlighted that the two-year-old Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA) has been in full swing now.

“EVAP remains committed to monitoring and further pushing the implementation of every important aspect of the law,” Arraga said during his speech at the 12th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit at the SMX Convention Center.

READ: Gov’t to issue new EV industry road map this month

He added that they still have a long way to go to achieve the industry sales goal, as well as opening up to 65,000 EV charging stations nationwide during the same time frame.

Data from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) shows that EV sales in the country reached 10,602 units in 2023.

With the 2023 sales volume totaling 429,807 units, this would mean a 2.5 percent share for EVs.

Meanwhile, data from the same trade group shows that 11,186 EV units were sold from January to August this year, indicating a 3.7 percent share of the total vehicle sales volume of 304,765 units during the eight-month period.

In another interview on the same day, trade undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo said the government is aiming to complete a new incentive scheme for EV manufacturers to entice them to set up local operations.

“We are still receiving position papers but we aim to have the (Electric Vehicle Incentives Scheme) before the end of the year, and also in response to what the president said,” Rodolfo told reporters on the sidelines of the same event.

The trade official said they are looking to pattern it closely after the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program, but without the manufacturing volume requirements needed for local producers to be eligible to tax perks.