EVs safe from DTI’s dreaded import tariff

Electric vehicles (EV) are becoming more evident as the future of mobility. This idea is now becoming a reality as car brands are pushing for more sustainable mobility by investing heavily in EV development.

List of hybrid and electric cars available in the Philippines: Philkotse Top lis

The move to invest in EV development is primarily initiated by several countries that want to ban fossil fuel cars. One of which is Norway as it is all set to ban internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2025. Iceland is also putting a ban on ICE vehicles by 2030 while the United Kingdom will implement the ban by 2035. In Asia, Singapore is looking at banning traditional cars by 2040. This also makes Singapore the first Southeast Asian country to announce a ban on ICE vehicles.

Hyundai Ioniq

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In the Philippines, the idea of having more EVs on the road is still quite a far-fetched idea. Although, the local market is showing significant leaps when it comes to transitioning to EVs. The Philippine market has a number of hybrid cars available such as the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid, among others.

Mitsubishi Outlander

Moreover, EV Owners Society, a sub-group of electric vehicle owners formed by the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP), aims to bring together private EV owners and other industry stakeholders to discuss and advance the future of the local EV market.  

As such, Society Adviser and current EVAP President Edmund Araga underscored the group’s important role in promoting sustainable mobility in the country.

More importantly, Society President and Philippine Parts Maker Association (PPMA) President Ferdi Raquelsantos assured everyone that EVs are exempted from the new Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) safeguard measures on vehicle imports.

Hyundai Kona Electric

Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) President and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo is glad about this development. 

“We welcome and support this development. It’s been a long time coming. Globally, Hyundai has been leading the charge in commercializing new energy vehicles, while HARI is one of the first local car companies to introduce EVs to the Philippine market,” said Perez-Agudo.    

“We join the EVAP in seriously looking beyond our current situation. The pandemic will pass but environmental concerns are here to stay. Hyundai’s EV lineup is out to help create a better future for all by making these technologies accessible to a greater number of people,” added Perez-Agudo. 

As a review, the DTI is imposing a provisional safeguard duty or tariff in the form of a cash bond amounting to Php 70,000 per unit for imported passenger cars and Php 110,000 per unit for imported light commercial vehicles.

DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said that the imposition of the safeguard duty on imported cars was the agency’s response to the petition filed by the Philippine Metalworkers Alliance. The safeguard duties were seen as necessary to protect the local or domestic motor vehicle manufacturing industry.

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