Nissan says 46% of Filipinos Open to Buy Electric Vehicles

The future of mobility is leaning towards electrification, but manufacturers need the support of the government to make this dream into a reality. This is what Nissan‘s head of electric vehicle business unit Nicholas Thomas said during the sixth Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit (PEVS).

Nissan said that collaboration among “automakers, governments, and other stakeholders” is the key to fast track the progress of electric vehicles (EVs) in Asia and the Oceania region. Thomas added that “creating the right environment” will help the market to switch to EVs. This could be made possible if EVs get a solid support from the government such as giving tax exemptions and other incentives.

Nissan and Frost & Sullivan did a market research concerning EVs in South East Asia. The research revealed that 46 percent of Filipinos are open to the idea of buying an EV as their next car. The study further states that the figure increases to 75 percent if government incentives are given to those who will buy EVs. Incentives such as waived taxes, more charging infrastructure, priority lanes for EVs during car registration, and free parking.

The Japanese automaker announced earlier this year that the new all-electric Nissan Leaf will be made available in markets such as Australia, Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand. Nissan is also looking to bring the Leaf in the Philippines and Indonesia. Will the Leaf arrive in the Philippines? Well, it seems that our government should show support to EVs to make that happen. But then again, is the Philippines ready to go electric?