Alternative Fuel Vehicles Incentives Act (SB 2856)

[bananatype]

I think there are downsides to current hybrid technology that might hamper its wide acceptance in PHL:

-Gasoline-electric hybrid cars (e.g. Prius) will still be considerably more expensive than equivalent-sized pure-ICE vehicles
-Owners will be tied to the casa for the vehicle's life because your local talyer won't touch it with a 10-foot dos-por-dos
-A 10-year battery warranty is cold comfort when a replacement costs $4,000 or P160k * current exchange rate
-It occasionally floods here and there, but more frequently now in unexpected places...we all know what happens when you mix water and electricity
-Where to dump an ultra-toxic battery that's leaking heavy metals after 10 years...noone can recycle it here in PHL so you'll end up shipping it back to its maker
-You'll be paying even more for a hybrid soon because rare-earth metals don't grow on trees, and the Chinese are getting greedy

Now if we're talking about pure-electric and plug-in hybrid, then most of the above will apply as well. But with the added downside that most of our local electricity isn't from green sources (ex. wind, hydro, tidal, geothermal, solar)...so you're just transferring your foregone emissions to some dirty smelly coal-burning CO2-emitting NPC plant in the lovely verdant countryside that is far away from you.

But yes, people will see you as very cool eco-hip guy, albeit limited to within 60 kms. of a charging station. Charging station, you say? Aha, another problem! And we haven't even gotten to the issue of range-anxiety yet. It's not looking good for plug-in electric either...

Seems like there is much more promise in the LPG, CNG, and LNG possibilities of SB 2856 since these are widely accepted existing technology. Juan Dela Cruz could still buy a small affordable car...AND enjoy exemption from import duty, excise tax, VAT, and municipal sales tax... AND be exempt from number coding... AND have special parking spaces... AND be doing the environment a favor...all with an LPG vehicle...and very very soon without waiting for a charging infrastructure to be built. Hell, a taxicab mekaniko can keep an LPG car running till it falls to pieces!

Hmm..something to think about. By the way, I do support SB2856 and HB5460. And I don't own an LPG station.

Cheers!

[ghosthunter]

But yes, people will see you as very cool eco-hip guy, albeit limited to within 60 kms. of a charging station. Charging station, you say? Aha, another problem! And we haven't even gotten to the issue of range-anxiety yet. It's not looking good for plug-in electric either...

Ah! .... range anxiety is bad enough with electric car in developed countries. Here in the Philippines, the hot climate will force drivers to use their car's airconditioners and that will dramatically reduce an electric car's driving range. No problem if you live in a cool or cold climate but in hot tropics, aircon is almost a requirement.

You can expect an EV's theoretical range of 100km to drop to half or even less in local realistic driving conditions. That leaves 40 to 50km driving range left. That means a maximum driving radius of only 20 to 25km. How many people can easily do 20 km in a day?