BOI bares industry plan to produce up to 6.3m electric vehicles by 2040

The Board of Investments (BOI), the lead agency implementing the Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy (EVIS), set a goal of producing 6.3 million electric vehicles (EVs) by 2040 under the clean energy scenario (CES) or 1.7 million units under a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario.

The BOI is finalizing the Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy (EVIS) that will be submitted to the Fiscal Incentive Review Board (FIRB) for approval.

Similar to the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Program, the EVIS aims to provide support for EV manufacturing, assembly and infrastructure development.

BOI managing head Ceferino Rodolfo said EVIS would offer incentives to manufacturers who meet specific performance parameters such as local content requirements and the localization of critical technologies like batteries and software development systems.

Unlike the CARS program, which had a fixed budget, the EVIS will provide support to eligible participants based on their performance.

“The EVIS will be a performance-based incentive strategy. We will set specific criteria that manufacturers must meet to qualify for support,” Rodolfo said at the sidelines of the 12th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit (PEVS) Thursday.

To qualify for incentives, manufacturers should meet specific criteria including investments in manufacturing, introduction of EVs and EV components to the market, compliance with safety standards and adherence to other conditions set by the BOI.

The incentives will be in the form of fixed investment support and production volume incentives.

Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said EVIS is designed to bridge the cost gap between EVs and traditional vehicles, incentivize the transition of the local automotive industry to EVs and establish the Philippines as a player in the regional EV supply chain.

“Electric vehicles will not only make passengers comfortable and safe, but it is becoming more affordable. Affordability is one important aspect we should look at,” Bautista said Thursday in an interview at the opening of the 3-day Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.