The European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP), composed of foreign business chambers representing EU and European firms’ interest in the country, has urged the government that the planned zero tariff on the importation of electric vehicles (EVs) should cover all other types of EVs, including hybrids, and all EVs from non-ASEAN countries.
In a position paper addressed to Director Patrick T. Aquino at the Energy Utilization Management Bureau of the Department of Energy, the ECCP submitted eight recommendations for the government to be considered in the proposed executive order granting temporary zero tariffs on EVs for a period of five years or until 2035 from the current 30 percent.
The ECCP Automotive Committee position paper highlights recommendations for the lifting of tariffs for EVs coming from non-ASEAN countries and to include all types of EVs, not just pure EVs as proposed by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
ECCP emphasized that one of the most common means of accelerating EV adoption in developing countries like the Philippines is subsidizing vehicle prices.
In addition, the ECCP would like the inclusion into the Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry (CREVI), a national development plan for the EV industry with an annual work plan to accelerate the development, commercialization, and utilization of EVs, any types of EVs used for testing, research, marketing, and training must not be subjected to duties coming from any country.
“Doing so will not only augment the development of EV adoption but will also capacitate every manufacturer to bring in their demo/training units to the Philippines, which can be used for initial market study,” ECCP said.
To move the EV adoption forward, ECCP said that strategic development of the EV charging infrastructure value chain.
In terms of costs, EU businesses said, charging prices must be at par with the current electricity tariffs with a slight premium, and charging infrastructure should be placed in areas where consumers frequently visit or travel for accessibility. For charging rates, fast charging is beneficial for electric passenger vehicles and heavy-duty commercial vehicles.
With that ECCP supports the development in the drafting of the CREVI that sets out fast chargers for public transportation and long-distance travel. Moreover, the government should consider supporting automotive dealers in the country to install EV charging stations in their respective facilities.
Microgrids that use solar energy or other renewable energy (RE) sources should be established to power one or more sets of charging stations to help the country attain more than or close to 50 percent RE mix by 2040.
With that, ECCP urged that EV charging station providers should be incentivized. The group urged government to incorporate fiscal and non-fiscal incentives in the CREVI including reductions on rental costs, real property tax exemptions, and Value-Added Tax exemptions, for such charging players. The group believes this will ensure the standards of locally produced EVs.
ECCP has also recommended battery swapping system for 2-wheelers and to identify the number of charging points for these units as charging duration plays a vital role in commercial applications.
Swapping solutions are the most economical for commercial use and developing a dense swapping network in localities is considered by industry players to be a lever in increasing demand at the stations, the ECCP said. This would also make it easier for mobility users.
Establishment of a roaming network via access control in all charge points and strengthen the non-tangible aspect of the CREVI such as data centers and reliable internet connection was also pushed.
The roaming network via access control should also enable EV drivers to log in to any charging station and pay using a credit card or a smartphone.
Moreover, ECCP would like EV retrofitting to be regulated by the government to ensure safety standards.
In some markets, ECCP said conversion of running Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) motorcycles to electric, known as "retrofitting," has been enforced and considered to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions in an inclusive and circular fashion.
“An unregulated retrofitting process may lead to an inefficient performance, which may affect the confidence of Filipino consumers in EVs and the overall perception to and reputation of the Philippine EV industry,” said ECCP.
Lastly, the ECCP would like the government to require EV manufacturers to support technical vocational institutions (TVIs) in the Philippines and provide incentives to companies setting up EV training centers Human resource development is among the major components of the CREVI.
While EV skill development is a task undertaken by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), ECCP believes that government must mandate manufacturers to share information and training with TVIs in the Philippines to accelerate manpower capabilities across the EV value chain.