The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has approved a proposed incentive strategy aimed at jumpstarting the electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing sector in the Philippines. Known as the Electric Vehicle Incentives Strategy (EVIS), the proposal will now be submitted to the Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) for final review.

As reported in a Philstar article, the DTI proposal includes two main components: Fixed Investment Support (FIS) and Production Volume Incentives (PVI).

The FIS program is intended to subsidize upfront capital costs such as tooling, equipment, engineering improvements, research and development as well as training. Meanwhile, the PVI is designed to reward EV manufacturers based on their production output, using a formula that accounts for profit margin per unit.

The strategy also extends support to the production of electric public utility vehicles (e-PUVs), aligning with national goals to expand electric mobility in both private and public transport sectors.

The EVIS is expected to be taken up by the FIRB at its meeting in July.

DTI officials have noted that this strategy takes inspiration from the existing Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Program, which previously provided similar support to conventional vehicle manufacturers.

Once approved, the EVIS is expected to play a huge role in achieving the government’s long-term target of having electric vehicles comprise 50 percent of the national vehicle fleet by 2045. It also fulfills a mandate under the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA) of 2022, which requires the creation of policies and incentive systems to encourage local EV production.

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