Slated for July 17 and 18, the
seventh staging of the Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit (PEVS) will see not only the participation of various independent manufacturers as they showcase their products but major car brands like
Hyundai,
Mitsubishi, and
Nissan as well.
Their participation comes as no surprise since Hyundai has launched commercially
not only the Ioniq hybird (PHP1.548 million) and electric (PHP1.868 million) but the
all-electric Kona (PHP2.388 million) as well, and
as announced by Nissan in March, come 2020, it will finally sell the
Leaf locally as well.
But what about Mitsubishi?
Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) has been a staunch supporter for electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids for years, donating numerous units of its electric i-MiEV and Outlander plug-in hybrids (PHEV) to
both the local and national government for years. Yet despite its efforts, the Japanese carmaker has been left behind by its rivals in introducing electrified vehicles to the local market.
So, what will it take for MMPC to finally bring in its
i-MiEV EV and
Outlander PHEV to its dealerships? The answer lies in
incentives in the form of
zero-percent taxes and duties.
After the press conference
for the Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit 2019,
MMPC Vice President for Corporate Public Relations, Renato Lampano, confided in CARMUDI PHILIPPINES that the government has to eliminate the taxes and duties for both electric vehicles and hybrids for manufacturers to be able to lower their prices and be competitive against internal combustion engine-powered (ICE) vehicles. Currently, the best incentive the government is offering is a
50-percent exemption in taxes for EVs. Surprisingly, for some reason,
PHEVs are
not exempted whatsoever from both taxes and duties.
And therein lies the rub: the government has to cut the taxes and duties for both EVs and PHEVs down to zero for for MMPC to makes a case and sell the i-MiEV and the Outlander PHEV locally. When that happens and the cost of hybrids, EVs, and PHEVs are at par with ICE vehicles, maybe then we'll see the public finally adopt electric vehicles as their mode of transport, be it private cars or public utility vehicles.
