Joining the EV race

President Marcos cranked up his clean energy drive to a higher gear with the approval of the long-awaited Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy (Evis) Program, a P60-billion incentive package aimed at attracting investors to locally produce electric vehicles (EVs), deemed the “new norm” in the automotive industry.

Executive Order No. 121 signed soon after Mr. Marcos’ penultimate State of the Nation Address (Sona), the country’s largest incentive package for automotive manufacturers to date provides a “time-bound, targeted, performance-based and transparent fiscal support to encourage strategic investments in domestic EV manufacturing.”

“Through Evis, we are laying the groundwork for a globally competitive EV manufacturing ecosystem–one that will attract high-quality investments, strengthen local supply chains, support our energy security goals, and create more opportunities for Filipino workers,” said Finance Secretary Frederick Go, “This is a strategic step toward building the country’s industrial future.”

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On its face, the Evis program is a potential game-changer, with Go stressing that the incentive strategy “sends a clear signal that the Philippines is ready to compete for the next generation of automotive investments,” which have so far eluded the Philippines and instead rushed toward neighboring countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam.

Homegrown automaker

Demand is certainly there, with sales of the entire range of electric vehicles, from the hybrids to the fully electric vehicles, surging by 132.7 percent in the first half of 2026, in contrast to an 11.4-percent decline in sales of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles over the same period.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. has so far expressed firm interest to join the program, pledging P7 billion to produce what is expected to become the country’s first locally manufactured hybrid EV at its Santa Rosa, Laguna plant.

So has homegrown automaker Francisco Motors, which if qualified for incentives will have to bring their enrolled vehicles to the market within three years.

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That other local as well as foreign companies have not rushed to file applications, however, underscores grave concerns over the project’s sustainability, on whether the promised incentives will indeed be given and if the program will be implemented as approved in the EO.

After all, this is not the first time that such an incentive program has been laid out to spur investments in the automotive sector.

Uneven implementation

Recall that the government rolled out the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program in 2015, which also offered incentives for firms to produce at least 200,000 of their enrolled vehicles within six years.

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While production has indeed increased, the program had been hobbled by uneven implementation, in that after enrolled companies such as Mitsubishi and Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. invested billions in the local manufacturing of bestselling cars, they have found it difficult to secure their promised incentives.

A major blow came last year when Mr. Marcos vetoed the P4.32-billion CARS program item in the 2026 General Appropriations Act, raising warnings among the car and parts manufacturers about breach of trust that drowned out official assurances that the move did “not reflect a withdrawal of government support” for the automotive industry.

The economic team indeed was able to scramble for funds to be given the carmakers and the Board of Investments has assured the participants that the estimated P3.99B due them should be paid by next year. While mollified, the bruising experience surely turned off investors.

These delays and setbacks indeed do not exactly boost confidence that this latest program will be free from the woes that have blighted the previous incentives programs.

Political instability

Thus, as the Marcos administration works on the implementation of the Evis, it should also exert extra effort over its remaining time in office to shore up investor confidence and indeed the government’s very credibility that was rattled by policy instability.

As the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines said in a letter to Mr. Marcos before the 2026 Sona, his administration has already advanced reforms and enacted measures advocated for by the business community, and the acid test is in their implementation.

According to the chambers, hard fought reforms have the potential to significantly improve the country’s investment climate but emphasized that their success will greatly depend on “consistent” and rigorous implementation across relevant government agencies and “clear regulatory guidance.”

Changing the rules in the middle of the game cannot and must not be tolerated if the Philippines–whose net foreign direct investment inflows plunged in April to their lowest level in nearly 10 years–stands even a small chance of catching up with neighboring countries that have been getting the lion’s share of investments coming to the region.