In 2011, the Philippines, with a $110,000 grant from the Asian Development Bank , e-trikes were manufactured. These e-trikes were of two different types: one containing a 3 kWh battery pack, and the other a 6 kWh battery pack. The models featuring the 3 kWh battery pack can travel between 40 to 50 km on one charge and can be 80 percent recharged at "fast" charging stations during the day in under 30 minutes. The models featuring the 6 kWh battery pack can travel up to 100 km on a single overnight charge. That's two round trips of EDSA. As of January 2012, the only electric tricycles operating under the e-Trike Project of the ADB and the Philippine Department of Energy are the 20 units running on pilot in Mandaluyong City.
Both vehicles have the same basic features. They run on electricity. Because they run on electricity, they do not emit carbon. These electronic vehicles both claim higher driving efficiency. Charging electronic vehicles costs lesser than fueling up with petroleum. Drivers and passenger of both vehicles attest to the speed, acceleration and comfort of driving or riding an electronic vehicle.
Electronic vehicles are dubbed as the future of driving. This is not far from reality. There is a great need to find alternative solutions to the fast depleting oil reserves in the world, and the exponentially worsening air pollution. With these electronic vehicles, we can finally do away with petroleum dependency. We can, and should, be able to utilize the abundance of sun in the Philippines, a thought which most of us have been acquainted with since I-do-not-remember when. With electronic vehicles, we can curb air pollution.
The path has already been laid out for electronic vehicles. We have jumpstarted. I think we just need a little more push, a little more attention, and a little more budget, and we can get to our destination with these electronic vehicles.
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