MANILA, Philippines – In a decisive pivot toward sustainable transportation, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has officially abandoned its planned Race program and will redirect all incentives toward electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing.
Trade Secretary Cristina Roque announced the strategic shift on Wednesday, confirming the government will proceed directly with the Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy (Evis). This move effectively replaces the Revitalizing the Automotive Industry for Competitiveness Enhancement (Race) program, which was intended as a follow-up to the earlier Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (Cars) initiative.
“We are going straight to Evis. For now, there will be no more Race,” Roque stated to reporters, signaling a clear policy realignment.
The Race program’s cancellation follows months of financial uncertainty. Its proposed ₱250-million budget was excluded from the 2026 national spending plan after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vetoed unprogrammed appropriations. Unlike the Cars program, which was funded through verified savings from the Department of Public Works and Highways' 2025 budget, Race failed to secure a dedicated funding source.
Race was designed as a ₱9-billion incentive package, offering up to ₱3 billion in fiscal support to automakers committed to producing 100,000 units of internal combustion engine vehicles. It aimed to sustain the momentum generated by the ₱27-billion Cars program launched in 2015, which attracted major manufacturers like Toyota and Mitsubishi.
Electrifying the Future
Secretary Roque emphasized that dropping Race underscores the administration’s commitment to electrified transport. “We want investors who are going to manufacture EVs here in the Philippines, so we are prioritizing incentives for them,” she explained.
While details of the Evis package are still being finalized and await a presidential executive order, the program is expected to be broader in scope than previous automotive incentive schemes. It may match or even exceed the scale of the Cars program. Roque anticipates the order will be issued within the next three months.
Automakers are already positioning themselves to capitalize on the new incentives. Mitsubishi Motors Corp., for instance, plans to produce what could become the Philippines’ first locally manufactured hybrid vehicle by mid-2028 under the Evis framework.
This policy shift aligns with rapidly growing consumer demand for electric vehicles in the country. EV sales jumped 18.7% month-on-month in February, reaching 3,098 units, up from 2,610 in January. Year-to-date figures show an even more dramatic surge, with sales climbing 66.9% to 5,701 units compared to 3,416 units during the same period last year.