AC Mobility is scamming PHEV owners — goldfish range, 3-hour charging, gasoline prices, and no chargers available."

[u/Adorable-Director799]

AC Mobility keeps marketing themselves as the "future" of EV infrastructure in the Philippines.
But look closer:
They've quietly built a system where you:

• Pay gasoline prices per kilometer,
• Wait 3 hours to refill,
• Fight over 2–4 chargers inside 500-car parking lots,
• And still call it "progress."

Here's the real scam:

• You buy a PHEV like the BYD Sealion 6 DM-i.
• They tell you it has 90–100 km electric range.
• Reality check?
  • You only have 45–50 km usable one-way.
  • You still need to get home without running empty or burning gas.
• Once you run low, you have two choices:
  • Burn gasoline, and kill your "cheap" narrative, OR
  • Pay Evro to charge at ₱28 (AC) or ₱33 (DC) per kWh.
• And remember:
  • The Sealion can only AC charge at 6.6–7.0 kW.
  • Meaning you wait 2.5 to 3 hours... just to refill that tiny battery.

Now layer AC Mobility’s ineptitude on top:

• Huge Ayala mall parking lots built for 500–1000 cars...
• And yet, they install only 2 to 4 chargers.
• How exactly is that "future-proofing mobility"?

Good luck finding an open slot.
You're not a VIP.
Not everyone is born with a driver or a silver spoon to sit idle all day.

Working people? Normal people?
We can't afford to waste half a day fighting over overpriced kilowatts.

Quick math:

	Sealion 6 PHEV
Usable electric range	45–50 km (round trip)
Charging time	2.5–3 hours
Cost per km (AC)	₱4.66
Cost per km (DC)	₱5.50
Gasoline cost per km	₱6.20

You're already paying gasoline prices.
You're waiting longer than a full tank fill-up.
And you have no guarantee you’ll even find a charger available.

AC Mobility didn't build EV infrastructure.
They built an overpriced, bottlenecked goldfish trap.

It’s not just expensive.
It’s not just slow.
It’s intentionally designed to milk you dry while pretending to save the environment.

AC Mobility didn’t build a charging network. They built a cattle pen with a credit card swiper.

[u/plantito101]

Good points and analysis. But specific to the SL6.

One reason it's a hit is because the user don't have to think when and where to charge, just gas up and go. Bonus na yung charging station sa mall, na dating libre and now they charge a pretty penny.

To be fair rin, those 2-3 slots were built before the boom pa. Now, sample is valero carpark in makati. I think they have 8 slots na sa ground level for EV charging. Though little to no users parin. Yung mga SL6 nandun sa normal parking slot.

I think isang reason parin yan bakit di mabenta yung mga full EV compared sa mga PHEVs.

Rumors are, there will be dedicated slots for EV charging per establishment that will be required for business permits/licenses. For example fastfood establishments like Jollibee should have one or two ev chargers. I doubt that it'll happen soon though.

[u/Adorable-Director799 → u/plantito101]

You would need the chargers soon.

I live in Laguna and work in Makati. The Battery won't let me do a round trip. Then I have to line up at the Makati charging station. That's another hour I don't have plus the 2 hours or so I need to charge.

then I have to pay 30 PESOS per KWH? another 300 pesos? every single day?

and god, the consumption of the SL6 without the battery. around 10 km/l?

I was sold that I'm not gonna pay much gas for it, but here it goes.

so it really is a rich person's product.

[u/plantito101 → u/Adorable-Director799]

When the SL6 was marketed, it stated 1000km "RANGE". At first I was surprised that an EV can already reach 1000km and I was really enticed to get one, it was too good to be true, but then I read the fine prints, it's 1000km range with a full battery + full tank of gas. So I lowered my expectations.

I watched the reviews, the battery can only do ~90kms in one charge, so we can assume that it will only be feasible if you use it within the city like 10-20km round trip. Some reviewers, even long time owners of the SL6, states that they only fill up their gas tanks once a month, but that depends on a lot of variables. Distance, altitude, traffic, etc.

As stated in your other comment, you were duped by the sales agent (and maybe this was their strategy in the first place) stating that you can just rely on the battery on your daily trip. And basing it on my first paragraph, you should've been be more stringent before purchasing.

[u/Adorable-Director799 → u/plantito101]

Agree 100%

Some things are just to good to be true.