THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said it is confident that demand for electric vehicles (EVs) will grow strongly in the wake of the oil price shock, as it prepares to release an incentive program for the segment that could reflect updated demand assumptions.
“Definitely, with the Middle East crisis, many people will shift to EVs,” Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina A. Roque told reporters on the sidelines of an event late Tuesday.
The DTI is about to release its Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy (EVIS), an incentive program designed to attract EV manufacturing. The package on offer consists of incentives worth P15 billion each to four participants that domestically produce four-wheeled EVs.
“We’re just finishing some final parts (of the EVIS,)” Ms. Roque said.
Trade Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo earlier said that the executive order and guidelines for the EVIS will be issued within the first half of the year.
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC) was recently announced as the first EVIS participant, while the DTI is in talks with two more carmakers.
EVs accounted for around 11% of vehicle sales in the Philippines at the end of March, though sales jumped 36.2% during the period to 11,800 units, according to a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association.
Meanwhile, the Small Business Corp., the DTI’s financing arm, launched on Monday a P2-billion loan program to help finance public transport operators and drivers transitioning to EVs.
Auto loans on offer are up to P1.5 million per vehicle, with a limit of P3 million per borrower.
The loan is payable over five years with a grace period option of six to 12 months. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
