The Philippines has launched a subsidy scheme worth up to $1 billion (about 60 billion Philippine pesos) to support domestic electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing and lure foreign investors. The program offers up to 40% co-funding for battery models and provides several tax incentives, including exemptions from income tax, excise tax, value-added tax, and import duties [1, 2, 3].
To qualify for the program, companies must invest at least 5 billion pesos or produce a minimum of 10,000 EV units. Participants are also required to launch locally manufactured EV models within three years of registration [2, 3]. Executive Order 121, signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on July 30, 2026, established the subsidy initiative. The order states the program is "hereby adopted to promote local manufacturing of EVs, including their parts and components, attract investments to expand domestic EV manufacturing operations, and develop the Philippines as a regional automotive manufacturing hub" [2, 3].
Among the early commitments, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines has pledged to invest 7 billion pesos to produce hybrid vehicles locally through the scheme [3]. The subsidy program can grant a maximum of 1.5 billion pesos per EV model registered under the program [3].
The Philippines seeks to position itself as a regional automotive manufacturing hub amid growing competition in the electric vehicle sector from Southeast Asian neighbors such as Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia [1, 2].
The program aims to spur significant industrial growth in the domestic EV sector and bring the country into the front ranks of the regional automotive industry. Companies interested in the program must meet the investment or production thresholds and comply with the local manufacturing timeline set under the executive order [2, 3].
