Range is perhaps the most pervasive customer pain point – and, for sure, the biggest source of anxiety – in electric vehicles (EVs). Indeed, who wants to be caught in the middle of nowhere with a dead battery?
Thankfully, the chances of that worst case scenario happening today has never been more remote. Cognizant that this is a significant hurdle to more widespread adoption, carmakers worth their salt in the EV frontier continue to address the concern through increased battery capacities, and more efficient energy consumption and recovery – in tandem with expanding charging infrastructure.
Even if these are admittedly still early EV days in the Philippines, we need to acknowledge the earnest work that has been put out by both public- and private-sector EV champions. Even local distributors of many brands have jumped into the electric pool head-first even without a guarantee for success and acceptance.
More than a decade ago, Toyota Motor Philippines brought in the Prius hybrid when, to be honest, electrification was but a novelty here. But Toyota has been used to being a first mover anyway; and you could even say that the company eventually realized the fruits of its hybrid gamble not in the Prius per se but through the robust sales of hybrid models of its luxe arm Lexus.
Other brands have followed suit, ranging from plug-in hybrids of Range Rover and Volvo, to the high-profile launch of the all-electric Nissan Leaf in May of last year. And again, while electrified models cannot (at least for a moment), hold a candle against conventional ICE-powered offerings in terms of sales, there’s a reward for brands and people willing to play the electric long game.
That certainly seems to be what PGA Cars is thinking. The local distributor of Audi, Bentley, Lamborghini, and Porsche dove in headfirst by bringing in the all-electric Taycan in the middle of 2020 (in the throes of the pandemic no less), and then the e-tron SUV, e-tron GT, and RS e-tron GT just last February.
Verily, it’s a matter of reading the electric writing on the wall, not trying to make sense of tea leaves.
For PGA Cars, the two electric releases are neither symbolic nor half-hearted. There are big bucks behind this. In a release, the company said it “has already poured an initial investment of more than P300 million for the construction of facilities specifically designed and equipped to address the unique requirements and safety standards of electric vehicles.” This initial outlay also went into acquiring “manufacturer-approved equipment, tools and software, as well as an inventory of genuine parts.” More investments are expected to be plunked down to “further support the domestic adoption of electric vehicles.”
PGA Cars boasted that “Porsche and Audi are the only global carmakers to have sold in any significant number fully electric-powered vehicles in the Philippines.” And the firm isn’t done just yet – promising to expand these two nameplates’ offerings, as well as bring in more electric models, this time from Bentley (later in the year), and Lamborghini in 2023.
And the EV snowball effect continued via another breakthrough last week.
The country’s largest shopping brand, SM Supermalls, formally inaugurated EV charging facilities at four of its locations: SM Aura in Taguig City, SM North Edsa in Quezon City, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, and SM Megamall in Mandaluyong. SM Supermalls President Steven Tan said that the move is in line with the company’s “commitment (to) building a greener environment for everyone,” and reflects a to drive sustainability in the chain’s 79 malls nationwide. “We want to urge everyone to consider more sustainable options in their everyday life, and shifting to e-vehicles is a giant leap toward a greener future for all of us,” he added in a statement.
SM’s EV charging stations are a product of the mall chain’s partnership with the Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Trade and Industry – and are seen to “(assist) the government accelerate its renewable energy and sustainability initiatives.” If you recall, in 2018, an EV charging station for public vehicles opened at SM North Edsa. This latest development represents SM reaching out to the private sector in support of EVs.
“SM Supermalls will continue our staunch support of the government’s new EV law and the National Renewable Energy Program to promote a more eco-friendly society for all Filipinos. We remain steadfast in our goal of increasing our share of renewable energy sources by 50 percent by the end of 2022,” Tan continued, and promised to roll out more chargers. “Within the next few months you’ll more of these coming up in Clark, Baguio, Tagaytay… the objective is really to put it in destination malls like (these and) Tuguegarao and Bicol.”
On display at the SM Aura for the program launch were an Audi e-tron and Porsche Taycan – fully electric offerings from PGA Cars. Both can be plugged into the Wallbox Pulsar Plus 7.4KW AC chargers with Type 2 connectors deployed at the aforementioned SM malls.
As the Philippines marches forward toward electrification, the insurance industry is also keenly watching the goings on. Prudential Guarantee President and CEO Anthony Sy said to this writer: “We see the EV industry as being in its early stages here in the country, so the insurance will be the same. Fire insurance should be enough to cover potential risks with a home charger. For now, there’s no exclusion for the charger, and we anticipate that will be a necessity in the future. The underwriting is the same as of today.”
As for underwriting the EV itself, there’s a “minimally higher” fee owing to the prohibitive cost of high-voltage batteries on these fossil fuel-free vehicles.
While the recently passed EV Law addresses the infrastructure side of the EV equation, Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, who attended the launch and delivered a speech, promised to do his part to help with the sales side as well. Lopez proposed to entirely do away with tariff for EV vehicles, which currently stands at 30% percent. This will obviously result in lower prices for EVs here, helping remove their cost premium over their internal combustion engine-powered counterparts.
He also said that The Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program, first implemented under the late President Noynoy Aquino’s watch in 2015, can be looked into to accommodate a third participant – this time to distinctly help to jumpstart the EV industry here. If the government is able to name or identify that third entity, the government will be able to channel P9 billion in support. Lopez expressed hope that President Rodrigo Duterte can approve this proposal before stepping down at the end of June.
Back to the SM charging facility, any compatible EV vehicle may avail of the service for free –except for a standard parking fee. Here’s hoping that the snowball will continue to get bigger and gain commensurate momentum as electric continues to transition from a novelty to commonplace in the country.
