The government is planning to simultaneously implement its two flagship incentive programs aimed at encouraging the local production of electric vehicles (EVs) and gas-powered cars, potentially within the year.

Finance Secretary Frederick Go told reporters last week that the government intends to implement the EV Incentive Strategy (EVIS) and the recently revived Revitalizing the Automotive Industry for Competitiveness Enhancement (RACE) programs simultaneously.

Go said EVIS has already been cleared by the Cabinet-level, interagency Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB), which he chairs, and has since been transmitted to the Office of the President (OP) for approval.

The program will be implemented through an executive order (EO), which is expected to be issued ahead of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27.

Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments (BOI) Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo said EVIS is expected to have an incentive package worth ₱60 billion. This would provide ₱15 billion in fiscal support to the program’s four participants in exchange for their investments in local EV manufacturing.

If approved, EVIS would have a larger incentive package than the government’s initial vehicle production incentive program, the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS), which had a budget of ₱27 billion.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) earlier announced plans to participate in EVIS through the domestic production of hybrid EVs at its plant in Laguna province by 2028.

Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said in May that Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP) is also interested in joining the program.

BOI Executive Director Ma. Corazon Dichosa said the investment promotion agency (IPA) is in talks with two other local automotive manufacturers that are seeking to partner with foreign counterparts to participate in EVIS.

Meanwhile, Rodolfo said the government is looking to finalize the guidelines for the RACE program as soon as possible, in time for its planned implementation within the year.

Seen as a successor to the CARS program, RACE seeks to encourage investments in the manufacturing of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in the country.

Rodolfo said the proposed RACE program will be designed as a transition program, particularly for CARS participants looking to join EVIS.

As such, RACE is expected to run for only three years from its launch, with an incentive package worth ₱9 billion. The program would support up to three participants, with ₱3 billion in fiscal support for each.

TMP and MMPC are the two beneficiaries of the CARS program, which covered the Vios and Mirage models, respectively.

So far, Go said TMP has already expressed interest in participating in the proposed RACE program.

Last month, TMP executive vice president Jose Maria Atienza said the Japanese automotive giant would be interested in enrolling its Tamaraw model in a government incentive program to make its production more viable amid growing supply chain challenges.

Shortly afterward, Roque said the RACE program would be back on track after initially saying it would no longer be pursued in favor of EVIS.