Combustion engines now on the way out, says ABB’s Olivier Coquerel
MANILA – Car manufacturing companies are now competing to develop electric vehicles and significantly reduce combustion engines in private and public vehicles.
In a recent press briefing, ABB Philippines’ Country Managing Director Olivier Coquerel said a good example of an electric vehicle is Nissan Leaf as it is one of the most affordable electric cars with very high standards.
He said the Nissan Leaf comes with two different electric engines that can withstand water.
“It’s almost like a few years ago your phone could not withstand water, now you can drop your iPhone in a pool and it will be okay. There’s a lot of evolution and the price of batteries is also dropping a lot,” Coquerel added.
He expressed optimism electric cars will be common in the next three to four years and would be affordable.
“What is important is to have the infrastructure to be able to charge a car, to find a charging station and everything is now embedded in the charging station,” he explained. The charging station will tell the motorist to charge the car for 12 to 30 minutes. There’s a strong possibility shopping malls like SM and Ayala will provide charging stations.
Last year alone, three million electric cars were sold and a growth of 15 – 30% in electric car sales during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“In ten years, from 1 or 2 out of 10 people will be driving their own electric car even in Metro Manila,” Coquerel said.
ABB has sponsored Formula E which is comparable with Formula 1 but with a twist as cars can go up to 300 km/hour speed using electric motors as it accelerates faster that very good combustion engine cars. It uses its own energy to recharge its batteries. Another feature of the electric car is it runs with the least noise. (Melo M. Acuña)
ABB Philippines' Country Managing Director Olivier Coquerel. (Supplied photo)
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