DOTr assistant secretary for legal affairs Mark Steven Pastor said the memorandum circular will cover all types of electric vehicles and will not exclude light electric vehicles or low-speed vehicles.
Global sales of electric cars registered a 40-percent year-on-year increase in 2019 although the car market contracted by 15 percent overall, according to the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Global EV Outlook 2020 report.
Currently, the transport sector is the biggest contributor to the country's total energy consumption at 35 percent, 88 percent of which is for road transport.
To encourage the manufacture, importation, and use of carbon-reducing vehicles, Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan has proposed to exempt electric and hybrid vehicles from taxes and duties for the next several years.
DTI secretary Ramon Lopez cited the tariff modification of EV products under the Asean Free Trade Agreement, as well as the target date for the full EV utilization and registration in the Philippines.
