The Department of Energy (DOE) is eyeing the acceleration of electric vehicles (EVs) rollout that will top 6.3 million by 2040; and that shall account for half of all vehicles plying Philippine thoroughfares by then, versus those powered by internal combustion engines.
The advancement of electric mobility (e-mobility) in the country’s transport system shall also be underpinned by hastened development of EV charging stations; targeting as much as 147,000 in the next 17 years.
The energy department had cast three-tiered development milieu of EV investments in the country – the short-term horizon of which will be within 2023 to 2028 and that will aim for 2,454,200 EV deployments nationwide - comprising of cars, tricycles, motorcycles, and buses.
Within that timeframe, the EV charging infrastructure buildup shall already reach a scale of 65,000 stations, as laid down by the energy department.
The next phase of EV adoption will be 2029 – 2034 stretch; and that will call for additional 1,851,500 EVs on Philippine roads; to be supported with additional 42,000 charging stations.
The long-term trajectory will be spread through 2034 – 2040; and that will cover 2,001,600 EVs more that will be traversing the country’s thoroughfares; and that shall likewise be propped with additional 40,000 EV charging facilities.
The doubling of EV adoption in the country will be formally presented by the DOE through a public consultation with relevant stakeholders to be held from March 20-23 this year.
The department indicated that discussion points will center on: the Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry (CREVI) as well as the three other EV-related Department Circulars -- primarily the guidelines for the accreditation of EV charging stations (EVCs); the unbundling of the EVCs fee; and the recognition and adoption of EV standard classification on road transport for incentive eligibility.
“Through this, the DOE is pushing for an increase in the rollout of EVs in the country to 10-percent from the original 5.0-percent mandated under the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA) or Republic Act No 11697,” the agency stressed.
Then from that 10-percent base, EV uptake shall be escalated further to 50-percent by 2040, according to the energy department.
With the enforcement of CREVI, in particular, the DOE stipulated that it is expecting “to attract more investments,” that will be injected through the supply chain of the nascent EV sector in the Philippines.
The DOE further explained “these actions are consistent with EVIDA’s thrust of creating an enabling environment for the development of the EV industry in the country.”
It specified that “the shift to EVs is expected to reduce the country’s dependence on imported fuel and to promote cleaner and energy efficient transport technologies.”