By Alden M. Monzon
Interest in electric vehicles in Southeast Asia is the lowest in the Philippines, apparently held back by the current lack of sufficient number of charging stations in the country, with only a quarter of Filipinos looking at these more environment-friendly vehicles for their next purchase.
According to a study conducted by professional services firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) between September and October of last year, only 25 percent of respondents from the Philippines are interested in electric vehicles.
Deloitte’s 2023 Global Automotive Consumer Study -which polled around a thousand respondents each from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam- also showed that 72 percent still prefer gas or diesel-powered vehicles, while the remaining 3 percent favor other types of vehicles.
Of those 25 percent, 13 percent preferred electric vehicles (EVs), another 10 percent chose plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), 3 percent chose battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
The lack of public EV charging stations was the top concern for Filipino respondents, with 55 percent citing it as a major concern in using full battery-powered electric vehicles.
The time required to charge was also cited by 51 percent, while safety concerns with battery technology Concerns on driving range and the lack of alternate power source at home were also double concerns cited by 43 percent.
“These results underscore the importance of ensuring that a robust infrastructure is in place to support EVs before we can expect consumers to make the switch en masse,” Deloitte Philippines Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer Eric Landicho said.
“And we’re not just talking about convenient charging sites. We have to consider if we have the right workforce to service these vehicles wherever the owners may need that assistance,” he said further.
The Deloitte executive also said that this also helps situate the government’s efforts at messaging and designing incentives to encourage the use of EVs so they can better align these initiatives with what consumers actually want.
The Philippines is trying to promote the use of electric vehicles in the country, with the government going as far as reducing import tariffs for some types of electric vehicles (EVs) to zero back in January, seeing it as a move towards mainstreaming its use.
Although two-wheeled electric vehicles, such as electric motorcycles and scooters, are currently not included under the government incentive scheme, Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual said its inclusion will be taken up in the review of the government’s policy after one year.
“We will review the (executive order) after one year to see whether there is a stronger justification to include these (two-wheeled electric vehicles),” Pascual said during a late-night media briefing on Wednesday.
Despite the seemingly lackluster interest in electric vehicles in the Philippines, other Southeast Asian markets are showing strong signals as more than half of the population seem to have taken a liking to electric vehicles.
Interest is highest in the Singapore market, with 62 percent of respondents from the city-state looking at this new generation of automobiles.
The study found that 36 percent of Singapore respondents favored HEVs, 13 percent chose PHEVs, and another 13 prefer BEVs. Thailand followed with 60 percent, Vietnam with 44, Malaysia with 41, and Indonesia with 40 percent.
