Arya News - According to the president, the national government is assessing what equipment and technology the company still needs to produce EVs locally.
MANILA – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said the government will support efforts to develop fully Filipino-made electric vehicles (EVs), including electric tricycles and jeepneys.
He believes these initiatives will reduce the country’s dependence on imported petroleum products.
Marcos made the commitment during his visit to MD Juan Enterprises Inc. in Caloocan City, a 60-year-old Filipino company that is considered a pioneer in machine-pressed metal parts for both military and civilian jeeps.
According to the president, the national government is assessing what equipment and technology the company still needs to produce EVs locally.
“We already know what needs to be done,” Marcos said. “Together with our technical consultants, I believe that we will soon see a Filipino-made electric vehicle, an electric tricycle, and perhaps, down the road, we will also be making our own electric jeepneys.”
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and other national government agencies will help provide the technology and other support needed by the company, he noted.
According to Marcos, the shift to locally manufactured electric vehicles can help decrease the Philippines’ reliance on petroleum products imported from abroad.
“Our goal is to reduce our dependence on petroleum products coming from other countries,” the chief executive said.
“In that way, we can help make the economy more stable and protect the livelihoods of public transport drivers,” he added.
DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said MD Juan had manufactured e-tricycles in 2013 and 2014, but had since stopped due to lack of demand.
“At that time, there was not much appetite among Filipinos to transition or convert from fossil-fuel or gasoline-powered vehicles to electric vehicles,” he recalled.
“But energy prices have risen, so more people are now interested. There is a lot of demand, but the supply for locally produced, Filipino-made EVs is lacking,” Solidum added.
The DOST wants MD Juan to partner with state universities that are developing different EV technologies to help the company increase and speed up the production of e-tricycles.
“They already have production capabilities. What DOST is doing is helping them increase their production efficiency and expand their output,” Solidum said.
The DOST is also working on a national charging infrastructure for EVs, including conventional electric chargers, solar-powered chargers and battery-swapping systems.
The agency is also developing EV technologies with universities and other partners, including an electric tricycle with Cagayan State University and the University of the Philippines, a solarized electric boat with Mapua University, and an electric-powered ferry by UP that is provided to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
But Solidum said the country needs more industry partners to bring these technologies to mass production.
“What we really lack is an industry partner that can help accelerate production so that prices can come down and these vehicles can become more affordable for our fellow Filipinos,” he added.
President Marcos in July greenlighted a P60-billion incentives package aimed at luring EV manufacturers to produce their units in the Philippines.
The move comes as the government positions the country as a regional automotive manufacturing hub.
Executive Order (EO) No. 12, signed by Marcos on July 29, puts into effect the Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy (Evis), the country’s largest incentives package to date for car manufacturers.
This program, which provides up to P15 billion in fiscal support for each enrolled EV model, is meant to spur the production of what will be the first Philippine-made EV.
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