Japanese firm gets DOE-ADB contract to provide first 3,000 e-trikes

WILL e-trikes take over the streets of Manila which are teeming with pedicabs and “kuliglig?” PHOTO courtesy of Manila City Hall Media Bureau

Uzushio Electric Co. of Japan clinched a $30-million contract to produce, deliver, and service the first batch of electric tricycles (e-trikes) under a joint project of the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to lessen the country’s dependence on import-based, pollution-causing fuels such as gasoline and diesel.

In a phone interview, Energy Undersecretary Donato D. Marcos said the agreement, which covered the purchase of 3,000 e-trikes, was signed Monday night. The first 1,200 units are expected to be completed in three months and another 1,800 units should be produced in the next three months thereafter.

The units are set to be delivered within the year by Bemac Electric Transportation Philippines, Inc., a subsidiary of Uzushio that operates in the Philippines.

The ADB-funded program, under the Market Transformation through the Introduction of Energy-Efficient Electric Vehicles Project, targets local government units (LGUs) nationwide. The order from Uzushio is just a small chunk of the total 100,000 units the DOE and ADB intend to purchase.

A contract to produce and deliver the entire 100,000 units was supposed to have been awarded in 2013, but the government decided to re-bid the project due to several issues, among them the need to expand the scope of beneficiaries since many local governments have poor credit histories.

Uzushio emerged as the lone qualified bidder among five companies that submitted proposals during the rebidding on August 6, 2015. But a contract was not immediately signed since the DOE sought to lower the units’ prices.

After two rounds of price negotiations, the final price was settled at around $30 million for the production, delivery, and servicing of 3,000 e-trikes.

The Philippines is home to over 3.5 million gasoline-fueled tricycles, a vehicle most commonly used as public transportation over short distances.

Uzushio is a manufacturing company based in Imabari City, Japan. The company is Japan’s number one large ship outfitter, chiefly manufacturing electric and communications equipment since 1946. In 2011, Uzushio launched an Electric Vehicle development program.  –Riza T. Olchondra, TVJ