Author: Heba Mousa, reviewed by: Tu-My Tran, and Barabara Riedemann

Within the goal of fostering international cooperation and promoting the transition to e-mobility, the EU-supported SOLUTIONSplus global e-mobility project, produced an e-mobility policy tracker for the Global South, in collaboration with the Asian Transport Outlook project, supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AllB). The tracker provides a valuable resource for a comprehensive reading of the e-mobility landscape, where some countries achieved considerable milestones, while others are just beginning their e-mobility journey.¹

The e-mobility tracker evaluates development, procurement and maintenance, and financial policies in sixteen developing countries: Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Ecuador Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Rwanda, Tanzania, Thailand, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. logs 800 different electrification measures, providing a comprehensive overview of each country’s progress in electrification. The conclusion? Most of the measures taken focus on policies related to electric vehicles (EVs) and their components, primarily supporting EV production, provision, and equipment acquisition. Below, we highlight some of the examples of national policies that the e-mobility policy tracker can provide:

Production and provision of equipment

The production and provision of equipment was the most common area of policy interventions regarding EVs. In the Philippines, for example, 45 policy interventions were identified, including fiscal incentives and disincentives, policy frameworks, regulations and action plans for EV usage, trade, provision of services and equipment, as well as EV production. The country issued the national  “Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA)”, which became effective in April 2022 to govern the manufacturing, assembly, trade and R&D processes of electric vehicles. It also facilitates fiscal incentives and tax exemptions for EV enterprises and manufacturers.

Sustainable procurement for EVs

Sustainable procurement is a topic of growing importance in promoting sustainable mobility, especially when it comes to integrating innovative technologies and shaping the market direction. However, there is often a limited understanding of sustainable procurement within the mobility sector, coupled with other challenges like the perception of high costs of sustainable solutions and lack of knowledge or commitment to sustainability within the procuring organizations. A qualitative study by the SolutionsPlus’ project partner VTT Technical Research Center of Finland examined EVs procurement practices in Hamburg, Germany; Hanoi, Vietnam; Kathmandu, Nepal; Pasig, Philippines; and Quito, Ecuador. The research concluded two main recommendations:

1. Allowing flexibility while providing sufficient details. This mainly refers to the constraints that might emerge against purchasing optimal and innovative technologies in case of setting strict criteria. The rigidity of the criteria in a rapidly evolving market can, therefore, pose a limitation.
2. Diversification of procurers’ expertise. When local governments and other procurers have limited experience in the e-mobility market, external procurers or counting on providers’ expertise for incremental development might be a good solution. In this case, cities and providers can jointly develop their business models and create new forms of collaboration within the existing projects.

Policies targeting 2-wheelers

Indonesia launched a motorcycle conversion program in 2020. At least 13 conversion workshops had been operating in 2022 with a target of converting 50,000 two-wheelers to electric by the end of 2023. The national government also dedicated a USD 455 million subsidy to manufacture 800,000 new electric two-wheelers, and to convert 200,000 petrol scooters to electric. Subsidies are also targeting consumers, with 80 million Indonesian rupees (IDR) or approximately  USD 5,130 dedicated by the Indonesian Ministry of Industry to subsidize purchasing new BEVs. Buyers of new electric motorbikes will receive IDR 8 million or around USD 520. Conversion of petrol two-wheelers to electric will be subsidized by IDR 5 million (~ USD 320). Other countries included electrification of two-wheelers in their NDC climate mitigation actions, including Vietnam, Uganda, Rwanda and Sierra Leone.

The policy recommendations and a presentation of the SolutionsPlus project results and living labs were presented in the Transport Research Arena (TRA) in Dublin on April 2024.