EV maker in initial talks to make cars in PHL

AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) manufacturer has sent feelers to the government about the possibility of building EVs in the Philippines, the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (OSAPIEA) said.

“For us in the government, the primary goal was to get people to start using EVs, to help the green economy move forward,” according to Secretary Frederick D. Go, who heads OSAPIEA, said at the 13th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit on Thursday.

“To us in my office, more important than that is the next step, which is to try to bring EV manufacturing or EV assembly here,” he added.

He said that though the Philippines has the capacity to build and assemble EVs, the issue remains making such operations competitive and cost-efficient.

“I think we need the help of everybody in the industry who plans to build EVs here to work with us to really figure out the main things needed to improve the ease of doing business,” he added.

“We are working with the Board of Investments to further encourage this process,” he said.

He added that the potential entrant and the government are still working out the details.

“They’ve only signified their intention. We have to come up with something to make it a reality. It’s still exploratory,” he said.

He added that he would like a Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) type of program tailored to EVs.

“The CARS program is not for EVs. I think we need to craft a different program for EVs. We need to create an incentive program for EVs,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile