Voltai enters PH market as first B2B motorcycle battery swap business
MANILA, Philippines — Startup venture Voltai introduced the Philippines’ first large-scale electric two-wheel battery swap ecosystem that is tailored to businesses operating vehicle fleets in a launch held today in Cleanfuel, Pasig City.
The exclusive event was attended by representatives from various businesses, particularly those with logistical, food and beverage delivery, and ride-hailing services.
The Private Express and Messengerial Association of the Philippines, and logistics associations were also present to see Voltai’s latest two-wheeled electric vehicles, battery swapping stations, and management application software.
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“The Voltai pilot preview marks the first step toward building the future of fleet e-mobility in the Philippines — smarter, cleaner, and more cost-efficient, ” said 1882 Energy Ventures Head of Ideation and Voltai Co-founder and CEO Fazlur Abdul Rahman.
“As a business-to-business solution, it addresses downtime, frequent maintenance, and fuel cost challenges for fleet businesses and riders, while also providing remote visibility on utilization.”
Voltai is a startup under 1882 Energy Ventures, a company under Aboitiz Power Corporation, focused on helping shape the decarbonization and decentralization of the energy system in the country.
The venture leases its EVs and batteries for a fixed fee, thereby shielding consumer businesses from rising vehicle costs and fluctuating fuel prices. Battery swapping also allows for faster turnaround when powering up.
With consumer businesses switching from gas-powered two-wheel fleets to electric, it also lowers their overall emissions.
Its mobile app serves as a rider’s interface for checking battery health and identifying the nearest battery swap station, which they can be routed to via Google Maps. Tracking location, swap history,
and rider performance are also available in the mobile app. Customers will also gain access to Voltai’s web-based Fleet Management System where managers can view location, trip history, cumulative mileage, various alerts, and carbon emission reduction, as well as organize riders by area or shift.
Still in its pilot stage, Voltai has partnered with fuel retailer Cleanfuel, as well as co-living and dormitory brand MyTown, to situate 15 battery swapping stations, the largest 2W EV swap network in the country thus far.
Voltai plans to further expand next year in Metro Manila and nearby provinces and further strengthen its after-sales support, addressing range anxiety, and making it easier for logistics, delivery, and transport operators to swap a depleted battery with a fully charged one in a matter of seconds.
The Electric Vehicle Industry Reform Act or EVIDA mandates industrial and commercial companies; public transport operators, and local government units, national government agencies, and government-owned and controlled corporations to ensure that at least 5% of their fleet, whether owned or leased, are electric vehicles.
“We are very excited to share Voltai with the Philippine market and provide businesses with fleet requirements a competitive edge through lower costs, higher efficiency, and reduced emissions without the need to shoulder heavy upfront costs,” shared Rahman.
The Philippine Energy Plan 2023-2050 targets re-fleeting 10% to 50% of all fleets with electric vehicles by 2040 onwards under Business-As-Usual and Clean Energy scenarios, respectively.
