THE Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act or Evida was passed in April 2022 to address the issues of the growing business of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country.
Ultimately, the law aims to foster the creation of an electric vehicle industry in the country not only allowing us to be part of this global movement but also to regulate its local development.
For starters, it gives benefits to car companies who bring in or import EVs through tax and tariff cuts and other exemptions (like the Metro Manila number coding scheme).
On paper and initial practice, it should be a big boost to the greening of the mobility industry and contributing to economic growth.
However, now that the green cars are arriving in droves to the country, particularly from China, the players are finding it hard to compete among themselves.
With the same perks and incentives being levied 'equally' among all players, these EV companies are finding it hard to get the lead or advantage.
The car is basically the same in all aspects with the technology inside becoming the competitive portion. Bigger screens, wireless connectivity, almost autonomous driving, and other future tech are packed in each unit to attract customers.
But, and there seems to always be a but, there is now this question about naming and identifying what can be classified as an EV, a hybrid car, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or an EV with a range extender.
Recently, a little discussion came up after two similar technology EVs were classified differently.
The BYD Sealion 6 DM-i was classified as a full EV by government regulators despite it having an internal combustion engine (ICE) running parallel to its electric motor.
On the other hand, the BAIC B30e was classified as a hybrid vehicle despite having basically the same features and technology.
The resulting dilemma in the naming and identification process for the two vehicles resulted in the BYD Sealion getting better incentives because it was classified as an EV, while the BYD B30e got a little bit less having been classified as a hybrid vehicle.
Although they perform about the same as motor vehicles, the difference can be seen in the prices of each model.
The BYD Sealion's top-of-the-line variant costs P1.548 million while the BAIC B30e's high end model is at P1.888 million. And the big difference in price can be traced to their naming and identification.
The BYD gets full incentive marks because it is identified as a full EV despite having an ICE as a range extender.
Meanwhile, the BAIC B30e gets only the lesser perks because it is identified as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle paired with a gas engine.
The thing is, a source from the industry is saying they should have been classified the same because their technology is similar.
Now, whether they are called EV's or hybrids, I have no expertise to comment on. But I believe the regulators should resolve this issue because as more electric cars come in, this loophole will be hopped into by some, well, not well meaning business guys.