Together in electric dreams — This year, the Philippines finally hops right onto EV bandwagon
From Jetour Ice Cream to MG4, to BYD Dophin and BYD T3, to Nissan Kicks e-Power, to Chery Tiggo 5 and Tiggo 7 hybrids, they are fast becoming household names in the motoring industry
pHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF SUZUKI PHILIPPINES THE Suzuki Ertiga Hybrid can be had at P954,000.
The Philippines may be a tad too late into the game, but it sure is making a big, bold move into the electric vehicle scene. That's especially true this year.
Just about every car maker in the country has an entry to that trendy new phrase "sustainable mobility."
From Jetour Ice Cream to MG4, to BYD Dophin and BYD T3, to Nissan Kicks e-Power, to Chery Tiggo 5 and Tiggo 7 hybrids, they are fast becoming household names in the motoring industry.
Big traditional brands are also well in the loop with Toyota's Zenix, Honda's eNy1; Suzuki is offering eVx in the next two years; the same way Chery just might launch here the version of its Omoda 5 aside from previewing fully electric eQ1 and eQ7.
Now for the sake of conversation, by EV we mean the entire spectrum covering fully electrified, hybrid, plug-in and battery.
Based on the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines, there have been 16,000 EVs sold in the Philippines this year, including motorcycles and buses.
Photograph courtesy of Jetour Philippines IT doesn't only look cute, Jetour's Ice Cream is a compact that runs on lithium-ion battery and costs P699,000.
The association envisions the EV units to reach more than 6.6 million units by 2030. Quite a daunting target, but very much doable, according to the group.
During last October's EV Summit, the EVAP said the problem is no longer the demand but the supply. Meaning, more and more people — mostly high-income families — are making the big switch.
They realized the lower cost of owning an EV: It is cheaper to run compared to gas-fed and because of fewer engine components to maintain.
