The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The electric vehicle (EV) industry in the Philippines is projected to experience“exponential growth,” according to the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP), with total EVs expected to reach at least 2.5 million units by 2040.
During the recent 13th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit held in Pasay City, EVAP president Edmund Araga said the target is “within reach” as sales continue to break records. EV registrations “skyrocketed to 29,715 from January to July this year, surpassing the total number in 2024.”
Citing Land Transportation Office (LTO) data, Araga said the figure represents about 5%of new vehicle registrations, or three times the number two years ago. Of the total, 28,353 units were new registrations and 1,362 were renewals.
The EV sector’s long-term goal is to have electric vehicles account for at least half of all vehicles on Philippine roads by 2040. This is supported by plans to install approximately 7,300 charging stations nationwide by 2028, and 20,400 by 2040.
“As EV numbers rise sharply every year, the number of charging stations must keep pace to convince more Filipinos to shift to electric mobility,” Araga said, stressing that the expansion of charging infrastructure is essential.
Meanwhile, government is studying the creation of a new incentives program specifically for EVs to attract more manufacturing investments, according to Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs (SAPEIA) Frederick Go.
Go said the proposed incentives program would be based on the structure of the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) and the Resilient Automotive Community Ecosystem (RACE), but customized to EVs.
“We need to craft a different program for EVs. Before, we had CARS and then RACE, but those are for non-EVs. So, we have to come up with one for EVs. Similar programs are better suited for the sector,” Go said.
Go said the policy should be implemented “as soon as possible” to encourage EV assemblers to establish local production facilities. He revealed one potential assembler is already in exploratory talks to set up operations in the Philippines.
The CARS Program, launched in 2015, was designed to revive the local automotive manufacturing industry by providing fiscal support to carmakers that commits to produce at least 200,000 units of a specific model locally. The newer RACE program broadened coverage to include parts makers and suppliers.
Go said a dedicated EV incentives program would push the Philippines to keep pace with the global shift to sustainable mobility.