An accelerated 20-30 percent sales growth in imported pure electric vehicles (EVs) is projected this year as the zero tariff on pure EVs took effect last month, according to the EV Association of the Philippines (EVAP).   Ferdinand Raquelsantos, EVAP chairman, said as the zero tariff on imported pure EVs under Executive Order 12 took effect last February 20, fueling demand for green vehicles in the country.   EVAP has yet to finalize the 2022 EV sales figure by March 21, but Raquelsantos said that based on estimates, “I would say there was a 20 percent increase in sales on 4-wheeled vehicles from 2021 to 2022 and another 30 percent increase on 4 wheels for this year.”   “With the zeroing of tariff starting Feb 20, new orders and imports will start to come in and prices of EV becomes very competitive versus internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. EV has good prospect for the coming months,” said Raquelsantos.   EVAP reported cumulative 13,934 EV units sold in the country for the period 2010-2021, with e-trike contributing the bulk of  7,220 units and e-motorcycles with 5,520 units. Other EV categories include 815 units of utility vehicles, 311 units of cars, 43 sports utility vehicles, 12 trucks, and 10 buses. The EV market in the country has really taken off. It started with 828 units in 2010, reaching a high of 4,262 units in 2018 before plunging to 969 units last year.   He estimated that the price reduction would range from 17 percent-20 percent as result of the removal of the 30 percent most favored nation tariff on pure EVs.   Depending on models and brands, he said, imported EVs from China are expected to have a better impact in terms of pricing over other models sourced from other countries as China brands come from a higher tariff rate reduction at 30 percent.   China, which EV brands have 30 percent tariff before the EO 12, will drastically cut their prices unlike the Korean EV models, which are coming from 5 percent rate. Other pure EVs from MFN sources such as Europe and US will also enjoy reduction in prices from the removal of their 30 percent import duty, although they are more expensive than China models.   There are currently 15 pure EV brands of which 50 percent are Chinese, he said, adding “There are a lot of choices on both passenger cars and commercial vehicles.   Raquelsantos, who is a distributor of Dong Feng, said they will carry a lot of full EV vehicles, across models, including commercial vehicles like pick-up truck, vans, 6-wheeler, 10-wheeler, among others. The commercial vehicles from China comes from five percent tariff before EO 12.   Kia, which is launching its pure EV model EV6 from Korea on March 21, is coming from Korea. It used to be charged with five percent tariff. “So, it is a very small reduction on selling price, unlike China which is coming from 30 percent,” he said.   Jaguar I-Pace, a full battery electric vehicle (BEV) which is coming from Europe, used to be sold at P7.990 million but is now selling at P6.590M or 17.5 percent, he said.   Meantime, Nissan’s Leaf from UK commands an SRP of P2.7 million. The zero tariff should reduce the landed cost of Leaf by P600,000 to P700,000, but this does not yet include yet the cost of goods sold, profitability, dealer margins, among others. Thus, the initial estimates placed the actual reduction in the Leaf SRP is P230,000 only.   There is no official distributor yet of Tesla in the country yet.