Is the future of motoring (still) electric?

A trip to any of the advanced economies in Asia and Europe will show how ubiquitous electric vehicles (or EVs) are in the motoring landscape of these countries. The recently held Manila International Auto Show (MIAS) clearly highlighted the investments that automotive brands are making on EVs.

This is especially true for manufacturers from China, as this focus on electrics is mandated by the central government, which strongly encourages use of what it terms “new energy vehicles” in highly urbanized city centers, such as Shanghai.

In Beijing, EVs are also given preference for vehicle registration, while non-EV buyers are subjected to a “license plate lottery” just to get their cars registered.

So where does that leave our market? In the ASEAN region, many other countries have already adapted government policies to encourage the use of EVs. Thailand, for example, gives substantial subsidies (equivalent to P200,000) to buyers of EVs.

In Singapore, electric vehicles accounted for 12% of new car sales last year — spurred on by government incentives (worth more than P1 million) to promote the sales of EVs. Of course, Singapore is an anomaly in the region, as the prohibitively high COE (Certificate of Entitlement) means that the typical Singaporean buyer is skewed toward a more affluent demographic. This same demographic is where we may start to see some headway for EVs in the Philippine market.

It is absolutely true that the purchase considerations of mainstream automobile clients are vastly different from those in the luxury segment. EVs have already become a fixture in the premium showrooms throughout Metro Manila, and within this segment, the electrified dream has already become a present reality.

As expected, this is largely due to the luxury car buyer being able to consider the extensive number of benefits of an electric vehicle — and there are many — without being put off by a price tag that may be prohibitive for most.

It also helps that many premium car buyers live in gated villages or high-end apartments, and have access to an enclosed garage with electrical access for charging.

Additionally, since vehicle cost is not the primary consideration of these buyers, other more altruistic issues such as protecting air quality and preventing the depletion of fossil fuels may come into play. Though the environmental impact of the traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) is widely known, for many, the ability to find a safe and reliable mode of transportation is a more pressing necessity.

If EVs are going to establish a significant presence in the mainstream Philippine automotive market, they are going to need to have a clear fiscal benefit to the buyer.

The first, and perhaps most significant, hurdle for widespread EV sales is the cost of the vehicle itself. The cost of EV technology, specifically battery technology, has gone down drastically over the past decade. Despite this, the cost to produce an EV is still roughly double that of an equivalent ICE-powered vehicle.

As mentioned earlier, some markets have established tax incentives and subsidies to push buyers toward EV choices. Over here, the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act (EVIDA) Law held much promise in its initial versions. However, the final form that was passed turned out to be severely watered down, and the primary fiscal incentive for imported EVs is merely exemption from excise taxes, which was already available during the rollout of the TRAIN law in 2018.

Perhaps the most talked-about benefit of EVs is the exemption from the UVVRP (Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program) in Metro Manila, commonly referred to as number coding. Being able to use your car for another day in the week, however, is not compelling enough to pay double the price for a new car. Most households would then just buy two cars, which is precisely what they did — further aggravating the traffic congestion in the city.

But what about the reduced cost of fuel? Surely, that is a strong enough reason to choose an EV. Well, if you spend P15,000 a month on fuel, and an EV is P1 million more expensive than a gasoline or diesel counterpart, then it would take more than five years for you to recover the marginal cost of the EV. And that does not even consider the increased electricity bill from home charging.

One may also argue that maintenance costs of EVs are significantly lower than traditional fossil fuel-powered engines, and that would partially offset the high upfront purchase cost. This is true, as EVs remove many of the traditional engine components that need to be tightened, lubricated, or replaced on a periodic basis. But one challenge that remains is the battery, which only has a limited number of useful charging cycles before the entire unit needs to be replaced. As most dedicated EV platforms are essentially built around the battery, the effort and cost in replacing an obsolete battery can be higher than the depreciated value of the vehicle, which can affect the resale value of an EV. One quick search on Facebook Marketplace will show that early adapters of EV technology bore the brunt of heavy depreciation. An EV with an obsolete battery is similar to a modern cellular phone with an obsolete battery. For the affluent, this simply signals the need to purchase a new unit.

Perhaps one factor that needs to also be considered in the promotion of electric vehicles is the availability and cost of electricity in our country. While we in Metro Manila often take electric supply for granted, for many of our countrymen, electricity remains to be an elusive luxury. In regions where rotating blackouts of several hours are a regular part of life, and the hum of diesel generators permeate the rural silence, how can EVs possibly gain a foothold? It doesn’t help that the Philippines continues to have one of the most expensive electricity rates in the region. And to top it all off, nearly half of the electricity produced in our country comes from the burning of coal and other fossil fuels. Without nuclear power plants, our electricity will remain expensive. And without sustainable power solutions, our electricity will remain dirty.

Hybrids provide a sort of compromise, where customers enjoy a measure of the benefits of electric propulsion, while having both feet still firmly planted in internal combustion technology.

We must remember that the whole concept of a car powered by electricity is not a new idea. Electric motors were used in the early 20th century to propel some of the first examples of horseless carriages. One of the primary reasons why the world had widely adopted internal combustion vehicles is because petrol was one of the cheapest fuels available when automobile use started gaining popularity. It made the most fiscal sense.

EVs are powerful, dependable, sustainable, enjoyable, and environmentally friendly. They are the next step in the evolution of the automobile. But until we are able to make them affordable to buy and to own, they will continue to be a dream for majority of the motoring public.

Source: Business World

5 Naff Things That Devalue Your Home

The 1980s were a time of social and professional mobility— glass ceilings galore were smashed. At the same time British suburban families were putting up millions of their own glass ceilings at home,— these too should have been smashed. Conservatories with glass and uPVC roofs and windows soared in popularity, but what those who installed them did not realize was they would heat up intolerably in summer and freeze in winter. Now Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of the House Buyer Bureau, warns they will devalue your home by £15,000. However, poorly built conservatories are far from the only bad home investment. Here are five other disastrous forms of decor that typically devalue properties.

INDOOR SWIMMING POOLS

In March it was revealed that Rishi Sunak had built a 40ft swimming pool at his house in Yorkshire, and his link to the electricity network had been upgraded to heat it. Sunak is far from alone. In recent years residents of mansions across the UK have installed indoor swimming pools, usually in basements. The only problem, say agents, is that indoor pools are often unattractive and unappealing because they have been bunged in darkrooms with no natural light. Not only are they rarely used, but they can cause problems with damp and cost a fortune to maintain — particularly at a time of high electricity bills. Marc Schneiderman, director at Arlington Residential, another agency, agrees: “They [indoor pools]have no added value. They’re generally considered unenjoyable to use, expensive to heat and, if not properly managed, can cause a bad odor through the property, as well as condensation problems.”

HUGE GARDEN OFFICES

In the six months after the start of the first lockdown in March 2020, nearly one million homeowners splashed out on a garden office, according to the insurer Direct Line. If done tastefully they remain an attractive addition, but there is a tipping point. Some of the WFH brigade went OTT and built for themselves home offices so large that they obliterated much of the garden. “I was selling a large family home in Clapham [southwest London] that had a 40ft garden. Their children are teenagers so gardens are not as important, so they built a large home office/PlayStation room for the kids,” Kesha Foss-Smith, regional director at John D Wood & Co, an estate agency, says.“This may have added value for them, but the people who are moving to this house have smaller children and therefore the outside space is more desirable. Every potential buyer felt they would need to take it down.”

FLASH KITCHENS

Most spacious, presentable and modern kitchens still add significant value to a property. But, as with mancaves, if you’ve taken leave of your senses and knocked down all the walls in your home to construct a monster kitchen diner — often at the expense of anyone’s personal space — you’ll ultimately suffer for it. “I have had clients rip outa brand-new kitchen that cost over £150,000 to put in in the first place because it was too bling. Kitchens and bathrooms are very personal,” Mark Lawson, a partner at the Buying Solution, says. A key concern for some buyers is that those kitchens are so big they obliterate a house’s personal space. Magnet, a kitchen designer, found that 29 per cent of2,000 house hunters said they would pay more for a home where the kitchen, dining room and lounge remained separate. The trick is to use your common sense and think what looks stylish but is also useful.

BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ TOYS

As Harry Enfield’s vulgar show-off character Loadsamoney satirized, flaunting your wealth could leave you with an unsellable house — or one where you have to accept a price drop. Agents say examples of Loadsamoney toys that nobody wants are saunas, steam rooms, golf simulators, bowling alleys and cinemas. Part of this is cultural. “Buyers from different countries have different priorities. Russian buyers have always valued saunas and steam rooms as they are part of their culture, but for many UK buyers these are a waste of space in a confined London townhouse and will simply add to the cost of modernization,” Simon Barry, head of new developments at Harrods Estates says. Lawson says that if you must install lots of mod cons around your home, make sure they’re high quality. “Fancy extras such as saunas, steam rooms, golf simulators and bowling alleys need to be the best, otherwise top-end buyers notice and realize it will cost to tear them out and replace them. ”Philip Harvey, senior partner at Property Vision, a buying agency for up market clients, says koi carp ponds are never a winner. “In 23 years I have never had a client who wanted to keep koi carp.”

ICEBERG BASEMENTS

The combined depth of all the basements carved out underneath the capital over the past decade would measure 50 times the height of the Shard, according to a study by Newcastle University. And yet many experts say this feature won’t necessarily add value to properties — and, when done badly, can make them less attractive. “Basements by their nature are dark and have no windows, so you have to consider how that space will be used. For example, bedrooms cannot be designated or sold as a bedroom unless it has a window,” Camilla Dell, managing partner at Black Brick, a property buying agency, says. “Some of the worst basements I’ve seen are multilevel ones. Space is often created for beauty salons, massage rooms, gyms — but the reality is these spaces are rarely used. Buyers do not place as much value in terms of price per square foot on basement space as they do on floors that are above ground. The differential can be as much as 50 per cent in the worst cases,” she says.

Source: The Sunday Times Home

The greener future in Philippine real estate

The global climate crisis has heightened the need for industries across the board to adopt sustainable practices.

Real estate, for example, can significantly contribute to the mitigation of climate change through the implementation of green building initiatives.

In the Philippines, the industry has taken substantial strides in incorporating sustainable features both in the planning and design of projects and their ongoing management and operation. True sustainability explores the core principles of systems thinking, the importance of policymaking in ensuring long-term sustainability, and the measurable efforts that developers in the country have made to manage their carbon footprint.

By adopting a systems thinking approach, developers can address the environmental challenges of real estate more comprehensively and effectively.

Systems thinking: A holistic approach to sustainability

Systems thinking is an integrated approach to understanding a system’s interrelated components and processes. In the context of real estate development, it refers to the recognition of the interconnectedness of a building’s design, construction, and operation and their collective impact on the environment. By adopting a systems thinking approach, developers can address the environmental challenges of real estate more comprehensively and effectively.

Energy efficiency

Energy efficiency is a crucial aspect of sustainable development, as it reduces greenhouse gas emissions and lowers the overall carbon footprint of a building. Developers can incorporate energy-efficient features into their projects by utilizing passive design strategies, such as natural ventilation and daylighting, as well as employing energy-efficient building materials and technologies, such as LED lighting and high-performance insulation.

Developers can incorporate energy-efficient features into their projects by utilizing energy-efficient building materials and technologies.

Water conservation

Water conservation is another essential component of sustainable real estate development. Developers can implement water-saving measures in their projects by installing low-flow fixtures and rainwater harvesting systems, and by using native and drought-tolerant landscaping.

The incorporation of waste-to-energy systems in the design of buildings can significantly contribute to its sustainability.

Waste management

Proper waste management strategies also contribute significantly to a development’s overall sustainability. These can include the implementation of recycling and composting programs and the incorporation of waste-to-energy systems in the design of buildings.

Policy making

Policymaking is essential in promoting and maintaining sustainable practices in the industry. Governments and regulatory bodies have the power to set standards and guidelines that incentivize developers to adopt eco-friendly practices while ensuring that these measures are consistently implemented and maintained throughout a project’s life cycle.

Measurable efforts

In recent years, the Philippine real estate industry has witnessed a growing trend towards sustainable development, with numerous developers incorporating eco-friendly features and strategies into their projects.

Ultimately, the success of sustainable real estate development depends on the commitment and collaboration of all stakeholders involved. By fostering a culture of sustainability that emphasizes environmental responsibility and long-term thinking, the real estate industry in the Philippines will continue making significant strides toward reducing its carbon footprint and contributing to a more sustainable future.

Source: Inquirer