By Dean Aubrey Caratiquet
Consistent with the government’s push towards sustainability, the Department of Energy (DOE) works in tandem with other concerned agencies to accelerate the country’s shift from fossil fuel-powered automobiles to electric vehicles (EVs).
This, as the DOE published Department Circular (DC) No. DC2025-09-0015 on September 5, which amends the EV Recognition Guidelines under DC2023-05-0012 and ensures better alignment with the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA).
It is expected that such efforts will hasten EV adoption and encourage more Filipinos to embrace sustainable modes of transportation and help in reducing emissions across the archipelago.
Under the new guidelines, EVs are classified as follows:
- Battery EVs (BEVs)—Automobiles that solely rely on batteries as the main power source for vehicle propulsion.
- Hybrid EVs (HEVs)—Refers to vehicles with both a fossil-fuel power source and batteries as sources for propulsion but can propel itself from a standstill using an electric motor.
- Light EVs (LEVs)—EVs that provide alternative modes of transportation, such as electric scooters, electric personal transport, and other similar vehicles under 50 kg.
- Plug-in Hybrid EVs (PHEVs)—Can be charged from an external energy source that has tailpipe emissions
- Range Extender/d EVs (REEVs)—HEVs propelled by an electric motor but equipped with a fueled power source that is solely used for charging the batteries or to extend the vehicle’s driving range.
- Fuel Cell EVs (FCEVs)—EVs without tailpipe emissions that use fuel cells, which powers its electric motors for propulsion.
Recent data from the DOTr–Land Transportation Office (LTO) underscores the growing momentum of EV adoption, with 29,715 EVs registered from January to July 2025, already surpassing the full-year total of 24,286 in 2024.
EV registrations now represent nearly 5% of new vehicle registrations, marking a threefold increase since 2023.
THe DC2025-09-0015 is expected to take effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette or any newspaper of general circulation.
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