Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker VinFast is urging the Philippine government to streamline permitting process for EV charging stations as it ramps up investments in the country’s EV infrastructure.
Antonio “Toti” Zara III, CEO of VinFast Southeast Asia, said V-Green Charging Stations Philippines Inc., the company’s charging arm, plans to build thousands of charging stations but faces delays from varying local government unit (LGU) requirements on top of Bureau of Fire Protection clearances.
Zara said the company has raised the issue with the Department of Energy (DOE), which is considering standardizing requirements under the state of national energy emergency.
“They said that one sheet of paper should have all the requirements. And more importantly, one standard requirement, so that it’s predictable,” Zara said.
He added that the DOE is also looking at setting deadlines for permit approvals. “If there’s no response, it is deemed approved,” he said.
Zara said each charging station costs about PHP500,000, translating to PHP500 million in investments for 1,000 stations and PHP2.5 billion for 5,000 chargers. “We’re ready to invest in the Philippines. What we need is to accelerate the permits,” he said.
He claimed VinFast became the Philippines’ top EV battery vehicle brand in sales during the first quarter and said the company also aims to become the country’s leading EV charging station provider. Official DOE data, however, shows there are only about 1,000 EV charging stations nationwide.
“Again, we’re willing to invest. There are other chargers, there’s an investment plan, so help us,” Zara added.
Zara emphasized that faster permitting should not compromise safety, noting that LGUs can still conduct post-operation audits. “We respect the mandate of all the LGUs and we would like to abide by all these mandates, just tell us what we need to do,” he said.
He added that the company’s GSM taxi and ride-hailing operations also require more charging access. Its Las Piñas depot currently has nearly 15 EV charging stations.
