On September 27,
Volvo Philippines held
'The Future of Electric' Forum in partnership with
Partnership for Clean Air at the Globe Auditorium in the Maybank Performing Arts Theater at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.
"We dare to make a change for the better, starting with how we create our cars," declared
Atty. Alberto B. Arcilla, Chief Executive Officer and President of Volvo Philippines. In a bold statement reminiscent of Volvo Global's declaration of redefining personal mobility and rethinking traditional car ownership, the visionary leader of Volvo PH opened the forum with hard facts about the environmental challenges everyone is facing, and how Volvo is leading the charge in transforming the automotive landscape.
"Volvo has always been cognizant of our part in environmental issues. That is the reason why we have incorporated care for the environment as one of our core values. As early as the 1970s, Volvo had already made concrete steps in finding solutions to environmental challenges. Since then, Volvo has pushed the boundaries in addressing the environmental impact that our cars make," Arcilla shared.
Aside from being a founding member of the UN Global Compact, Volvo is also the first premium car manufacturer to declare an industry-leading commitment to electrify its model range, with fully-electric cars making up half of global sales by 2025.
Other guests also gave insightful talks including
His Excellency, Harald Fries of the Embassy of Sweden to Manila. Also present to deliver and share significant information were
Rene Pineda, Jr. President of the Partnership for Clean Air,
Kathleen Dematera, Transport Program Coordinator of Clean Air Asia, and
Atty. Mike Toledo, Managing Director of the MVP Group of Companies as one of the panelists.
Volvo Asia Pacific's Head of Propulsion Energy Systems and Controls & Calibration, Niclas Bratt, also shared Volvo's plans and ambitions. He elucidated why this is the time to go electric with the availability of high-level technology and vehicles that are easy and convenient to drive, environmentally-friendly, and that offer excellent performance coupled with low running cost.
Volvo's Market Area Director for Asia Pacific, Jakob Olsson, further trained the spotlight on Volvo's plans for pursuing a more electric future, starting the
first fully-electric car in 2019 and moving towards
achieving 1 million electrified vehicles on the road by the year 2025.
Paolo Abrera, lifestyle columnist, triathlete, and environmentalist and
Janelle Lazo Tee, Miss Philippines Earth 2019 and active eco-tourism advocate, were the hosts of the event.
The event also served as the launch venue for Volvo's plug-in hybrids in the Philippines--
the Volvo XC60 compact crossover, the Volvo S90 estate, and the midsize premium SUV Volvo XC90.
You can watch the 'The Future of Electric' Forum in the video below.
https://youtu.be/IlG_YRAp2t4?t=8
