/ Featured Article

Are we ready to go full EV?—Fourth Quarter 2023

After testing a few EVs, we’ve come to a few conclusions about their place in the market towards the end of 2023.

Earl Lee on Sep 11, 2023

Are we ready to go full ev in the philippines?

Challenging the status quo is rarely an easy task. Electric vehicles (EVs) are currently facing an uphill battle in the country, and years of gasoline and diesel power have created a way of life for motorists in this country and throughout the rest of the world.

While one may say that it is feasible to buy an EV in other countries like the United States, a majority of Europe, Japan, and other developed nations, the Philippines isn’t exactly “there yet” when it comes to EV adoption. We’re a few years away from that, currently, in the fourth quarter of 2023, but there are already full EVs populating dealerships and lineups from many brands in the country.

We got to live with a few full EVs for a bit, the Hyundai IONIQ 6, IONIQ 5, and the Audi e-TRON GT. While we did get a first look at the IONIQ 5 before any of the other EVs, it’s the Hyundai IONIQ 6 that we got to live with and appreciate driving on a daily. Apart from getting to review the car, we asked ourselves whether we were ready to commit to electric and ditch gasoline and diesel altogether. Given the current infrastructure at the time of this article’s writing (September 2023), here are our thoughts.

You need a garage

In our Hyundai IONIQ 6 review, we concluded that a garage or at least a parking slot with an outlet nearby was needed if you were to buy an EV, regardless of what it is. Whether it’s the IONIQ 5, IONIQ 6, Kia EV6, or Nissan LEAF, charging at home is a must. That being said, a garage or parking slots with charging outlets are needed or else you’d have to rely on external charging sources and stations to ensure that your battery is topped off whenever you start your day. On top of that, a roof over the car is rather important as electricity and rainwater aren’t the best of friends.

Wall box or outlet?

Hyundai SM Mall of Asia Charging Station

Currently, manufacturers are bundling in charging boxes for your home whenever you buy an EV from them, these include brands like Hyundai to name a few. If you do end up purchasing an IONIQ 6, you will be given a free wall box that uses alternating current charging, or AC. The slower cousin to direct current charging (DC), is meant to slowly bring up your battery percentage to full over the course of a few hours from as low as 20 percent.

You will have to tap into your home’s electrical system in order to install this box, and it’s much faster than plugging directly into a 220V wall outlet. However, if you already have a wall outlet, you can still plug it in, but it will take a good amount of time longer to charge from low to full battery.

Range anxiety?

There is a bit of range anxiety when dealing with EVs, still, though it’s not something that you should be too worried about. With most EVs now sporting ranges that go beyond 400 or 500 kilometers on a single charge (given reasonable driving), on the daily, most EVs will have more than enough to get you to and from work, plus a side trip in between for all seven days of the week, given you put it on the charger every time you get home.

During our time with the IONIQ 6 in particular, its estimated range of 545 kilometers on a full charge felt more than enough to start the day with. We also estimated that if we used the car for three days straight just going back and forth from the office, we wouldn’t feel any anxiety. We did start to feel queasy when the battery dropped down to 25 percent.

Topping up

Unlike most cars, that you can run down to the fuel light, we were a little more proactive while out and about with the IONIQ 6, mainly because we didn’t want to run out of range, and rescuing a drained EV isn’t the same as bringing a jerry can. Heck, a power bank wouldn’t be feasible given that kilowatts and not just watts are involved.

Even so, we were surprised to find that there are some charging stations out there that are available and ready to accept electric vehicles. Fuel stations like Shell, Uni Oil, and Eco Oil are leading the charge (pun intended) when it comes to on-the-go EV charging. We were able to bring the IONIQ 6 to these stations to charge slowly for free, or quickly for a nominal fee. Depending on the fast charger, we were able to get back up to 80 percent charge from 25 percent in about 20 to an hour and 30 minutes, which is just about time to buy a coffee and finish it at the station. While it is definitely longer than a five-minute fuel fill-up, it’s much faster than we anticipated and allowed us to continue driving for the rest of the day with a bit of patience.

One con is that these stations are few and far between and it took some research to find them. You will have to plan out your trip if you plan to go far. The chargers also vary in speed. The fastest one we used was located in Shell Mamplasan. The station’s Ultra-Rapid Charger is as fast as it sounds, boasting a charging rate of 180 kilowatts. Other stations with “just” fast chargers will be rated at 60 kilowatts or more. If you use the fastest available chargers, you can get your range topped off in less than 30 minutes but do know that you will be capped at 80 percent battery capacity if you’re using the Ultra-Rapid chargers such as the ones from Shell because of the heat and strain that fast chargers present to the battery of the vehicle.

Even if you are paying for the convenience, it wasn’t all that expensive. Charging from about 40 to 25 percent, it costs us between P1,000 to P1,500 to get back up to 80 on a 60 kW fast charger, and a little more per kilowatt on the Ultra-Rapid charger. With the current rate per kilowatt, we’d even say that EVs are cheaper to charge and run on the go compared to gasoline or diesel-powered cars given the range you get back.

On top of all of that, there are a few malls that have set aside EV slots and charging stations in their parking lots. Mall-goers with EVs can park in these areas and get topped up while they enjoy the facilities. However, it is important to note that the stations at these locations are capped at about 22 kilowatts, so they’re not too fast, but they will give you a little boost. For now, however, EV slots are limited at malls like SM, so you might encounter a few other EV owners and denying you a chance to charge.

Feasible? Yes, but with a bit of planning and setup

For the few motorists who can actually afford an EV, who have a house and a garage, a wall socket near their home parking, or perhaps a gasoline station with a fast charger, owning and driving an EV is feasible with a bit of planning and research. Know where the few charging stations are.

Setup is also key to owning an EV even once the rest of the infrastructure picks up. Making sure that you have a wall box in place is the deal breaker for us. Having the ability to leave your home with a full battery is what will allow EVs to be used normally.

Even then, however, we know that long drives are still out of the question. There are charging stations, and the EVs can make it up to Baguio, spend a night, and then trickle on a charger if there is one at the destination, but without several options for further from the city, you might end up with more anxiety than enjoyment for now.

Are EVs usable? Yes, but it’s not for everyone just yet. Fuel stations are plentiful, still, charging stations, not so much. We are happy to report, however, that it is not as impossible as we once thought, and the infrastructure is getting there. We’re excited to see what 2024 and beyond bring to electric mobility, and we hope that the Philippines will continue the development of its electric vehicle infrastructure.