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Friday, March 29, 2024

Bemac, Japan firm bag e-trikes supply

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The Energy Department issued the notice of award to Uzushio Electric Co. Ltd. of Japan and local partner Bemac Electric Transportation Philippines Inc. for the supply of 3,000 units of electric tricycles.

Energy Undersecretary Donato Marcos told reporters the notice of award was sent by the agency last week and received by the two companies Monday.

“The signing of the [supply] contract will be 28 days [after receipt of the notice of award],” Marcos said. He said the rollout of the entire 3,000 e-trike units was expected to be completed this year.

Marcos said the supply contract was granted to Uzushio and Bemac, following a series of negotiations with the department in coordination with the Asian Development Bank.

He said the winning bidders’ offer was accepted due to the “superlative features” of its offer, which included a five-year warranty on battery, maintenance and three-year free insurance and free registration.

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“If it is proven that government can service as a catalyst, then we can consider other  e-vehicles, such as e-jeepney, e-bus, in close breed with solar,” he said.

Marcos said the government had succeeded in lowering the manufacturing price to P450,000 to P460,000 per unit from the original estimate of P600,000 a unit.

“We want to bring down the cost further and with the presence of an independent EV expert recommended by ADB [Asian Development Bank],” Marcos said earlier.

Marcos said ADB had recommended e-vehicle expert Andrew Campbell of New Zealand to join the negotiations with Uzushio and Bemac “to really come up with a lower price.”

Uzushio and Bemac was the only one among five interested bidders who had complied with the requirements of the department for the supply and delivery of 3,000 e-trikes.

The department bid out an initial supply and delivery of 3,000 e-trikes last year as a part of the government’s market transformation through the introduction of Energy Efficient Electric Vehicles Project.

The first bidding failed, prompting the government to re-bid it but only one bidder emerged, which resulted in the negotiated bidding.

The first batch of e-trikes is slated to be rolled out in the National Capital Region and Region 4 A and 4B.

State-run Land Bank of the Philippines will serve as conduit of the ADB to collect and repay the multilateral lending institution for the deployment of the e-trikes.

The project, largely financed by the ADB and the Clean Technology Fund totaling $500 million, will be implemented for five years.

The project is expected to insulate stakeholders from the price volatility of imported petroleum products.

The project aims to deploy 100,000 e-trikes nationwide to replace the same number of traditional gasoline-fed tricycles, reduce the transport sector’s annual petroleum consumption by 2.8 percent (equivalent to 89.2 million liters) per year and achieve 79-percent carbon dioxide foot print avoidance.

Each e-trike unit, which features a 3-kWh lithium-ion rechargeable battery, can negotiate flat and uphill terrain and can comfortably seat up to five passengers.

The entrance is located on the pedestrian side of the vehicle for safety.  It complies with the Land Transportation Office’s road worthiness guidelines and regulations, requires less maintenance, is designed for easy driving, maneuverability and passenger comfort and has less noise and vibration than conventional tricycles.

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