BYD tipped as looking to Philippines for manufacturing facility

According to reports in the Philippine press, China's BYD is planning to build a a manufacturing facility in the country to produce electric vehicles and components, a local Board of Investment (BoI) said recently.

In a The Manila Standard report, executive director Efren Leaño said an unnamed company had recently met with the BoI to seek fiscal incentives from the Philippine government.

"This company is one of the biggest in China and is China's biggest producer of batteries for cars and even for cell phones. It is looking at assembly operations here for parts and electric vehicles for local and exports to countries outside China but closer to the Philippines," Leaño said.

He said the company was also producing electric-powered buses equipped with solar panels on top for battery recharging. Only China's BYD Co. Ltd., which makes rechargeable batteries and electric vehicles, matches those characteristics.

Leaño said the company was also interested in putting up charging stations in the Philippines. He said the BoI was reviewing which special incentives could be granted to manufacturers of such vehicles "to entice eventually the use of electric vehicles" in the country.

Earlier, the Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines urged the government to grant six-year income tax incentives to producers of electric vehicles, simplify the registration processes and exempt from color coding and bank financing.