The local auto brands have spoken: The suspension of tariffs for electric vehicles (EV) means good things for the local auto industry.
In a statement, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) expressed support for a proposal by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to suspend the Most-Favorable-Nation (MFN) tariff for completely-built EVs.
According to the organization, the move is in line with the recent laps of Republic Act no. 11697, better known as the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act, into law last month.
“CAMPI supports all EV technologies including hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and battery electric vehicles (BEV). All these have the potential for fuel consumption reduction and vehicle emission mitigation in the mid- to long-term,” CAMPI president Rommel Gutierrez said.
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Gutierrez also took the opportunity to stress the potential of EVs in the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) industry.
“OEM EV technologies are backed up by years of research and development. It cannot be oversimplified by focusing on only one component of the EV drivetrain system,” Gutierrez explained. “The performance of OEM EVs is measured in accordance with international standards.”
In March, DTI secretary Ramon Lopez recommended that the tariff rate for EVs be set at 0%.
“One thing we are proposing is to adjust the tariff rate from 30% to zero” to provide a boost to EV adoption,” he said.
“We need to promote EVs and the way to promote it is to encourage their use. How will you encourage the use of EVs if they are expensive? This is one of the immediate ways that we think can be done.”
