8th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit to Focus on Post Pandemic Electrified Mobility

Last August 25, 2020, the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines (EVAP) hosted a virtual pre-event press conference on the 8th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit (PEVS) with the theme,  “Moving Forward to an Electrified Mobility in the New Normal”. Members of the EV Summit Steering Committee composed of officers from EVAP and Manila Electric Company (Meralco) were joined by representatives from event sponsors Mitsubishi Motors Philippines and Nissan Philippines as well as representatives from the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of Transportation (DoTr). The virtual online press conference was moderated by Dr. Jose Bienvenido Manuel M. Biona, EVAP Executive Director.

EVAP Executive Director Dr. Jose Bienvenido Manuel M. Biona

The 8th PEVS is a groundbreaking three (3) day virtual online conference scheduled on September 24-26, 2020 focusing on electric vehicle (EV) adoption and the challenges and opportunities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic on both the supply and demand side of the EV market. EVAP has partnered with Olern, a leading training and consulting company specializing in eLearning platforms, in staging the event. “EV prospects continue to be bright despite the pandemic”, said EVAP President Edmund Araga. “According to International Energy Agency forecast, global EV sales will rise 6% this year to 2.3 million vehicles before exploding to 45 million by 2030. How the current crisis affects the pace of the electromobility shift in the longer term will hinge critically on the public policy response.”

EVAP President Edmund Araga

Araga narrated that the EV industry players in the Philippines are eagerly looking forward to the immediate passage of the Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations Act to further promote and adopt EVs in the country. The measure seeks to require private and public buildings and establishments to have dedicated parking slots with charging stations, installed by charging station service providers, and for gasoline stations to have a dedicated space for charging stations as well. It also mandates large industrial and commercial companies, public transport operators, and government agencies and instrumentalities to adopt a minimum 5% share of EVs within their respective fleets. The Electric Vehicles and Charging Stations Act is among the legislative priorities of both the Senate and House Committees on Energy.

EVAP Chairman Rommel Juan and EVAP President Edmund Araga flank Senator Serwin Gatchalian during the 7th PEVS.

“As we recover safely from this pandemic and reopen our businesses, along the way, the crisis is shedding light on questions and concerns about mobility, road infrastructure, and urban transport. Our collective over-dependence on fossil fuels has been a major challenge to carving out more public policy space for transportation options and ultimately to improving and cleaning up our urban air. But now, as we have all been forced to change our behaviors so radically, we have a distinctive opportunity to adopt new behaviors as we slowly get back to what will hopefully be a better normal”, opined Meralco Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Raymond Ravelo.

Meralco Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Raymond Ravelo (right)

The 8th PEVS aims to bring together stakeholders across the EV value chain as well as policymakers, regulators, academe, consultants, transport companies, utilities and end users to exchange and share their experiences and research results on all aspects of electric vehicles and supporting infrastructure. It also provides an online platform to present and discuss the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns as well as practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in the area of electrified mobility.

The upcoming digital event will also celebrate several milestones as it marks the 10th anniversary of EVAP’s incorporation, a decade of advocating green transport with the staging of the first PEVS in 2010, and the 10th year since the EV industry banded together to push for legislation and incentives. The 8th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit will also include the following topics:

• 2020 Long-Term Electric Vehicle Outlook by Frost & Sullivan
• Developing Public Charging Infrastructure in Response to the New Normal
• Challenges to EV Charging in Southeast Asia
• Recovery, Reopening and Role of EVs under the New Normal
• Policy Measures to See More EVs on the Ground Post Pandemic
• Promotion of Low Carbon Urban Transport in the Philippines
• Policy Dialogue with the Land Transportation Office (LTO): Revisiting EV Guidelines

For more information and registration, please visit www.evap.com.ph. Let’s move forward to a clean, green and lean electomobility future!