Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Undersecretary Rafaelita Aldaba said the agency is eyeing economic zones solely for electric vehicles (EV) manufacturing, including parts and components.

Aldaba said having ecozones and industrial parks that can host all manufacturing activities related to the e-vehicle sector will cut the logistics cost and could make e-vehicle prices compete with internal combustion engine vehicles.

“It is good to have one cluster within an ecozone… We can highlight that we have this EV cluster in the country,” she said in an interview on the sidelines of the 11th Philippine Electric Vehicle Summit in Pasay City over the weekend.

This initiative is part of the Electric Vehicle Incentives Scheme (EVIS) drafted by the DTI to stimulate the local production of e-vehicles and EV parts and components.

The trade official added that the agency will be coordinating with investment promotion agencies that manages ecozones, like the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), among others.

Companies are more encouraged to locate their projects within ecozones, like PEZA, as they provide one-stop-shop service to investors, which eases doing business in the country.

Ecozone locators receive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives under the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises law, depending on their activities and impact of their projects to the economy.

“Incentives could provide an attraction for us to encourage more developers and manufacturers in the country,” Aldaba said.

Under the EVIS, the government targets to locally produce 4 million e-vehicles, with raw materials, parts and components also being manufactured in the country. (PNA)