ACMobility eyes over 1,000 EV charging points by year-end

AYALA-LED ACMobility Holdings, Inc. is targeting more than 1,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging points nationwide by year-end as it expands its charging network to support broader EV adoption in the Philippines.

“We already have, within those 200 locations, over 500 charge points, and we’re pushing to go beyond 1,000 within the same year,” ACMobility Head of Mobility Infrastructure Carla Buencamino said in an interview on Money Talks with Cathy Yang on One News on Wednesday.

She said ACMobility currently operates more than 200 EV charging hubs nationwide as of April and plans to add 50 more locations within the year. About 75% of its charging network is currently located in Metro Manila.

“You can expect that the coming deployments will be around major highways, a lot more presence in gasoline stations, and definitely a lot more in the Visayas and Mindanao,” she said.

“There is really an opportunity here because you can have the charging stations at multiple locations,” she added.

Ms. Buencamino, who also serves as vice-president of the Electric Vehicle Association of the Philippines, said the government needs to ensure a stable power supply and streamline permitting processes to accelerate the rollout of EV charging infrastructure.

“Hopefully, the Department of Energy is going to be able to release certain guidelines already that is going to hasten the process for the permitting and that will allow us to speed up the infrastructure rollout,” she said.

Electric vehicles accounted for 11% of total vehicle sales as of March, according to a joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. and Truck Manufacturers Association.

EV sales, which include battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles, rose 36.2% year on year to 11,800 units during the first quarter.

Demand for EVs has been rising amid higher fuel prices linked to tensions in the Middle East, which have increased interest in alternative and more sustainable transport options. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz