Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) has agreed to lend its plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEVs) to the Department of Energy (DOE) for purposes of promoting such vehicles in the Philippines. PHEVs run on both battery power and traditional internal combustion engines.
In signing ceremonies on Tuesday, DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said 194 battery electric vehicles (EVs), 19 PHEVs, 30 hybrid EVs and 32 light EVs have registered under the Comprehensive Roadmap for the Electric Vehicle Industry as of January this year.
Lotilla also said 96 commercial EV charging stations have deployed as of December last year.
Lotilla encouraged the Japanese carmaker to support the clean energy transport sector by deploying more EV charging stations and related infrastructure, including assistance in the development of soft skills based on the new technologies.
The DOE said government is studying proposals to extend the zero tariff treatment on pure EVs to four-wheel hybrid EVs to include two- and three-wheel EVs was well.
DOE Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella previously said the Energy Utilization Management Bureau is working with the Department of Trade and Industry in determining the cost or benefit of removing the tariff on hybrids and on two- and three-wheel EVs.
“There is a technical working group that will present this to the committee now being raised before the Tariff Commission,” Fuentebella recently said.
The DOE anticipates the issuance of a relevant executive order within the month.
