Nissan pushes to make EVs more mainstream in PH

Nissan Philippines now has widest range of charging stations in country

Nissan wants to make electric vehicles a more popular choice for car buyers in the country. It's one of the many reasons they decided to launch the all-electric Leaf EV in the first place. But while they did launch it in the Philippines, specifically in Metro Manila, the country is comprised of more than just Luzon and NCR.

To customers living south of Luzon, the Leaf is now available too. A few months after its local debut, Nissan Philippines has now introduced the Leaf in the Visayas region.

“Now that the Nissan Leaf is here, the next phase of our electrification plans for the country involve continuously educating the public about the benefits of EVs, while making the Nissan Leaf accessible to more parts of the country through our Nissan EV dealerships,” says Atsushi Najima, Nissan Philippines president and Managing Director.

At the moment, Nissan already has several EV dealerships in the country which sell the Leaf. These are located in Cebu; Mantrade Makati, Otis Manila, and Bonifacio Global City in Metro Manila; and Tagum and Matina in Mindanao. Aside from selling the EV, the following dealerships are all equipped with charging stations which are free to use exclusively to Leaf owners.

With all these EV dealerships, Nissan effectively has the widest and largest EV charging infrastructure network in the Philippines. But it won't be limited to just these locations; Nissan plans to open more EV dealerships and expand their infrastructure even further by offering the Leaf in more parts of the Philippines in the future.

Nissan is also looking for potential partners to amplify the brand's goal to expand EV infrastructure and educate the public about EVs. One of the ways they plan to do so is by collaborating with the government and the private sector.

Najima cites the company's Blue Switch program in Japan as the potential next chapter of electrification strategy for the Phillippines. Launched in Japan last May 2018, the Blue Switch project built partnerships with various private and public stakeholders in Japan to promote the use of EVs and address social concerns such as disaster response, energy management, climate change, and eco-tourism.

“We are not just offering our customers a zero-emissions vehicle with the Nissan LEAF, and a nationwide EV charging network through our EV dealerships. We are also looking at building a network of partners here in the Philippines for sustainability and resilience, unlocking the potential for EV technology to address social concerns,” adds Najima.