The government and private banking institutions must open their doors to fund independent commercial electric vehicle players, as well as notable e-vehicle logistics providers like them, said the founder and chief executive officer of Mober, the country’s first green logistics firm.

“We have tried getting loans from sovereign banks (LandBank and Philippine National Bank). Unfortunately, they are not yet ready to finance commercial electric vehicle players,” Dennis Ng, president and CEO of Mober, said during the launch of Mober’s Central Charge, the largest commercial EV charging hub.

The government and private banks must unlock funding for independent commercial electric vehicle (EV) innovators and top-tier e-logistics providers like Mober, Ng indicated.

“We’ve knocked on sovereign banks like LandBank and Philippine National Bank for loans, but they’re still not ready to back commercial EV players,” Ng declared.

He said the price of each Mober EV truck is around P1.8 million, while the setting up of a dedicated charging hub for their trucks like Mober’s Central Charge in Pasay is worth P14 million.

Of the P14 million, P10 million goes to electrical infrastructure requirements while the rest goes to the hardware charging equipment, rent and other operations costs.

Charging hub in Pasay

The Pasay Central Charging, spanning 32,000 square meters, can accommodate 62 of Mober’s more than 200 EV trucks, simultaneously.

“The challenge for us, even if we raised a lot of money, is still financing. The first bank that trusted us was Banco de Oro (BDO), making us buy around 70 EV units. But if our requirement is 500 trucks, then we have to find other sources. I hope some financial institutions would help Filipino EV brands with regards to funding,” Ng told reporters.

“Also, we have to invest in our electrical transformers and cables. Our transformers are 2 kilovolts. Transitioning to EV is not easy,” he added.

Last January, BDO Unibank Inc. and Mober sealed a landmark agreement to fund the acquisition of Mober of its 60 new EV trucks. Mober right now has around 200 EV units.

Last year, Mober secured a $6 million blended investment from the Southeast Asia Clean Energy Facility II (SEACEF II), managed by Singapore-based fund manager Clime Capital.

SEACEF II focuses on supporting businesses that accelerate the region’s transition to clean energy and low-carbon solutions.

Through its partnerships with BDO and Clime Capital, Mober is said to be leading the way in sustainable logistics in the Philippines.

Expansion up north

Meanwhile, Ng said that aside from the Pasay Central Charge, they are now gearing to establish the same hub in Bulacan or Pampanga in the North, and Laguna in the South, where most manufacturing firms and warehouses are located.

“The funding for the Northern and Southern charging hubs in those areas is massive. We are acquiring 6,000 to 10,000 square meters of properties, not like here in Pasay, that are being leased for five years. So, it means the investments will be twice more,” he said.

He said the company is eyeing to complete the southern charging hub by the end of this year.