Solarius EV Charging eyes more than 500 charging locations in PH by 2025

Solarius EV Charging, a sister company of Solarius Energy, is set to open more than 500 charging locations in the Philippines by the end of 2025.

In an event held by the charging company at Raffles and Fairmont Hotel Makati, Solarius EV Charging Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Peter Wilson stated that the firm is targeting the activation of 60 electric vehicle (EV) charging locations by the end of the first quarter of 2023, 180 charging points by the end of 2023, and ultimately reaching its goal of more than 500 charging facilities by the end of 2025.

“Solarius EV Charging’s mission is to eliminate range anxiety for EV drivers by building a world-class, nationwide network of ‘destination’ EV charging locations,” Wilson said.

“We’re delighted that Fairmont Raffles Hotel in Makati is our first location partner in Metro Manila. Accor group is leading the hospitality sector to provide convenient EV charging facilities for its guests and shares Solarius’ vision of accelerating the shift to electric mobility in the Philippines,” added the chief executive.

"We believe that we are the only company in the Philippines that figured out how to monetize EV charging," Wilson noted.

In doing so,, the company needed to provide a higher standard of service for an amenity, that currently is offered for free.

Payment, per the EV charging brand, can be made using a credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay as well as pre-paid plans funded by G-Cash, PayMaya, and Western Union.

Those who have been following the EV scene might have heard of moves initiated by Western countries like Jeep’s partnership with Kiri to reward EV users with KiriCoins, as well as Volkswagen’s partnership with &Charge to give those using its charging network points that can be redeemed for “kilometers.”

Asked if the company will have something similar planned for the Filipino market who might want to try their charging locations in the future, Wilson told Carmudi Philippines  that the company offers such service.

"We can see who is using our chargers the most often and we have a VIP program where the next time you charge (you become a VIP when you reach a certain threshold), we’ll start giving a five, 10, or 15 percent discount," he said in a separate interview.

It’s true that while many Filipino motorists have expressed their interest in driving an electric vehicle, the current EV charging infrastructure shows that the Phillipines still has a long way to go when it comes to adopting an electrified means of mobility.

But will paid electric vehicle charging really snake a difference? Only time will tell.

Photos from Paulo Papa

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