How close are we to making the e-switch?
The 9th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit showed we’ve gone so far that we can almost see the finish line. Almost.
IN MY YEARS of covering this annual conference of our local electric vehicle industry rock stars, I’ve truly never seen a shortage of enthusiasm and, dare I say it, chutzpah to try to reach further than our arms can realistically manage.
To the people unaware of how hard these EV champions have been working behind the scenes, electrified mobility has largely been a pipe dream only to be realistically entertained by economies more prosperous than ours. For a time, the concept seemed like a novelty — a parlor trick even — designed to pique our curiosity about what our mobility future could be like.
Two main hurdles have always caused us to snap out of our reverie and go back to our internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered rides: cost and range. But if we’ve been paying attention to local and international EV news, the price of admission has started to go down while range has gone the other direction. EVs have not only become contenders; they are, well, Thanos.
Inevitable.
In his welcome speech at this year’s staging of the Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit (PEVS), Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) President Edmund Araga said as much. “Years ago, EVAP started with just a small pool of local vehicle parts manufacturers that share the interest on pushing for a local EV industry beginning with the electric jeepneys.
“Our membership has started to grow faster following the first Philippine EV Summit, with more local players joining the association. The annual PEVS has been instrumental in quickly spreading knowledge, and has become the platform for the whole EV value chain to gather, share ideas, create partnerships, and push the advocacy forward.”
Mr. Araga correctly described a significant development in the EV scene as “the second wave” — the influx of electrified offerings from OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). And then “in the past 12 months alone, EVAP has welcomed three EV charging system suppliers and network providers. Their entry heralds the beginning of the third wave.”
It appears that a snowball effect has started in earnest, and EVs — both as a result of global developments and the aforementioned efforts of key private and public figures in the Philippines — are starting to become feasible. Mr. Araga delivered the additional happy news that EVAP was approached by “local and foreign-owned major electronic and automotive parts and component manufacturers” to better understand the industry.
Thankfully, legislative and policy relief is coming at the right time. The much-awaited Senate Bill 1382 or the Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations Act, authored by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, has passed the Upper House third reading last May. Meanwhile, its Lower House equivalent, House Bill 4075, has hurdled its second reading. Mr. Araga expressed hope that these twin bills will soon be signed into law.
For its part, the Department of Energy released last July charging infrastructure guidelines and policy, which “covers the development, establishment, and operations of EV charging stations nationwide. That circular provides a pathway for fiscal incentives to motivate businesses to put up and adopt EV charging stations,” added Mr. Araga. Finally, the Land Transportation Office released an administrative order to firm up the guidelines on the classification, registration, and operations of types of EVs — ultimately making it clear to the end user just what EVs entail or mean.
Department of Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi said during the opening ceremonies that he had endorsed to the Board of Investments a P2.5-billion project to bring in 20,000 imported EVs. Part of the plan involves the installation of 5,000 EV charging stations over five years. The Department of Trade and Industry, on the other hand, is said to be crafting an EV incentive strategy.
Despite a pandemic hiccup of sorts which slowed the influx and purchase of EVs, Mr. Araga shared that, overall, the country has a total of 12,965 registered EVs from 2010 to 2020. That’s certainly very good news.
That’s because, at this point, it’s fairly obvious the writing is on the wall. If we don’t want to be EV laggards reduced to gaping and gawking at the countries with a thriving EV scene (and all the benefits it brings), then we should follow through on our dreaming with concrete steps to achieve them. The legislative and governmental follow-through is key.
So, from our vantage point at least, things seem to be coming along nicely.
