BOI approves electric vehicle factory

A P18.9-million electric vehicle production facility has been approved by the Board of Investments (BOI), the agency said in a statement Friday.

The factory, located in the Cavite Light Industrial Park, is expected to produce 6,000 units of electric tricycles and 200 units of electric jeepneys every year through its 97 personnel.

The approval was sought by the Philippine Utility Vehicle, Inc. (PhUV) as a new domestic producer of electric vehicles. Operations started last month.

With the approval, the company is now eligible for income tax holiday and duty-free importation of capital equipment.

PhUV’s electric jeepney models will use a 5-kilowatt or 7-kilowatt motor and will run for 55 kilometers. It can be charged for eight hours at a cost of P150.

On the other hand, its electric tricycle has a maximum range of 25 kilometers and can reach a top speed of 20 kilometers per hour. Its battery can be fully charged for four hours at a cost of P100.

The BOI said the tricycles “are ideal for use in beach resorts and other recreational sports. It can also carry massive loads.”

PHUV is the business arm of the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (MVPMAP). It supplies the electric jeepneys that service Makati and Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

The company said in its website that it “is the first to locally design, fabricate, assemble and actually put on the road an electric vehicle.”

Manufacture of motor vehicles is one of the preferred sectors in the Investment Priorities Plan (IPP) of the Aquino administration. The IPP lays out which sectors are eligible for perks.

Under the plan, motor vehicle manufacture particularly alternative fuel vehicles like electric jeepneys and tricycles shall be given incentives. — KBK, GMA News