By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Senior Reporter
THE Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) called a 20% market share the electric vehicle (EV) industry’s optimistic scenario, likely driven by the oil price volatility that is dampening interest in internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.
“I would love for it to go over 20%,” EVAP President Willie Tee Ten told reporters on the sidelines of the 14th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit (PEVS) on Thursday.
He said that the growth in EV sales has been steady, while sales of ICE models have been declining.
EVs accounted for 17.7% of automotive sales at the end of October, according to the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI).
Overall, vehicle sales dropped 10.2% to 307,060 units during the first 10 months, but the EV segment in isolation grew 163% to 54,372 units during the period, CAMPI reported.
Mr. Tee Ten noted that when the Middle East war broke out early this year, EV inventories could not keep up with the surge in demand.
For the three months to December, he expects the fresh buildup of EV inventory to help drive sales, though logistics snags pose a risk to this outlook, threatening to delay deliveries, judging from feedback from PEVS exhibitors.
Mr. Tee Ten also said that the weaker peso and higher interest rates continue to threaten vehicle sales growth.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Thursday raised interest rates by 50 basis points to 5.5% — the highest level in nearly two years — to address inflationary risks. The peso closed at a new record low of P63.52 against the dollar as geopolitical headwinds continued to weigh on the Philippine currency.
Against all these, Mr. Tee Ten said EV adoption is increasingly becoming mainstream in response to unpredictable pump prices.
“This is not just an energy issue — this is an economic and national security issue,” he noted. “This is precisely why we push electric vehicles, which are no longer an alternative, but an imperative.”
He added that the multiple EV entrants in the Philippine market will offer consumers choice while helping introduce an element of competition in EV pricing.
The Department of Energy is projecting a 50% EV share in the national transport fleet by 2040.