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A new House Bill could turn the Philippines into an electric vehicle hub

The announcement was made at the 9th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit

Autodeal on Sep 24, 2021

The 9th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit has revealed a lot of interesting things about the local electric vehicle (EV) industry in the country. So far the event has revealed that there are already plans in the works to help enhance the charging infrastructure in the Philippines to make EVs even more appealing to customers. Aside from this more news has come in the form of a new House Bill that seeks to transform the country into an EV industry hub.

As a bit of a backgrounder, EVs in the local automotive market tend to cost substantially more than their diesel or gasoline-powered counterparts. With that said, House Bill No. 10213 wants to even the playing field by making the Philippines a key developed in the market for electric mobility-related industries in the future. The House Bill (HB) called the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act, seeks to provide a way for the development of the electric vehicle industry and establish a regular framework for the manufacturing of said vehicles.

The ultimate goal of this bill is to cover as many factors as possible such as the generation of employment opportunities, ensuring the company’s energy independence from imported fuels for the transport sector, as well as helping popularize EVs in the automotive industry. So far, there are only a few mainstream fully electric vehicles in the country, these are the Nissan LEAF, Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, and the Chery Arrizo 5e. While choices seem slim now, the passing of the HB into law could entice more manufacturers to bring in their EV models in the country, thus giving customers more choices. Aside from this, the HB will also help establish a widespread charging network in the Philippines, necessary infrastructure that will help make buying an EV an attractive and sustainable option.

Should the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act be passed, its proposed comprehensive roadmap will be able to be used as a set of key guidelines to get the EV industry up and running. These guidelines will include certain standards and specifications for EV charging stations as well as the development of a supply chain infrastructure for said vehicles. It will also help strengthen R&D for EV-related technologies along with providing skills training and capacity building for the workforce that will build EVs. With that said, if the bill gets passed into law this could make the Philippines a big contender in the just starting EV market.