EVTV investing $80 million for Philippine production

MANILA, Philippines — Envirotech Vehicles Inc. (EVTV), a Nasdaq-listed company, plans to invest an initial $80 million in an electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing plant at the Clark Freeport Zone.

EVTV is a US-based transportation industry provider, specializing in all-electric vehicles for commercial and industrial use.

Following its success in the US, the company is now entering the Philippines to boost the country’s EV industry.

“The initial investment we have scheduled right now to set up and to build the plant is $80 million over the course of four years,” EVTV president and CEO Phil Oldridge told reporters yesterday.

Oldridge said the company hopes to have the entire facility completely finished and functioning by December 2025.

“We hope to have it set up at a maximum of five lines. Initially, we will open with two lines,” he said.

“It takes 120 days to build a vehicle. So the maximum capacity of a line is 360 vehicles per year on any one line. If we have five lines, you’ll have a capacity of about 2,100 vehicles a year,” Oldridge said.

Oldridge said the planned facility would cater not only to the domestic market, but also for export purposes.

“We believe that in Southeast Asia, you’re perfectly located and perfectly situated for such a facility,” he said.

As part of the project, EVTV yesterday signed a lease agreement with Berthaphil Inc. of the Clark Freeport Zone.

Berthaphil is an investor in the Clark Freeport Zone that operates a number of real estate developments within the freeport zone.

“This partnership is a significant contribution to the growth and development of our country’s electric vehicle industry,” Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla said.

“This is very important not only for EVT, but for the country because it marks the start of a very healthy climate of investment opportunities in the Philippines,” Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri said separately.