Philippines President Benigno Aquino III will personally ride in a made-in-Taiwan electric bus scheduled to arrive later this week, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs February 14.
Built by Taiwan-based RAC Electric Vehicles, the bus has a maximum speed of 95 kilometers per hour and a traveling distance of 270 km for one charge. It can help cut carbon emissions by 72 metric tons per year, the MOEA said.
“The vehicle’s motor, charging and driving systems were all designed and produced by RAC and its partners in the industry,” said MOEA Deputy Minister Liang Kuo-shin.
“This foreign order shows that Taiwan’s manufacturers are ready to seek a share in the global electric vehicle market,” Liang added.
Purchased by Victory Liner, the largest provincial bus operator in the Philippines, the bus will depart from Taiwan’s Keelung Port February 17, according to RAC.
The company said it expects to sell an additional 41 e-buses, 300 e-jeepneys and 50,000 e-tricycles in the Philippines this year.
The Philippines government has invited RAC to jointly establish a production base in the islands that can build up to 100 e-buses per year, RAC said.
The base, along with other RAC investments in the Philippines, would generate annual revenues of NT$18 billion (US$610 million) over the next five years, according to RAC estimates.
