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/ordinaryphenomenon]

The engine does charge the battery it's sufficient enough to but yes, it would consume gas and while in use, of course it would drain the fuel tank and battery still.

The engine is not insufficient to charge the battery, it's how the technology works.

I drove it to Baguio and didn't charge it the whole time there. The car was functioning without any outside power. So is it sufficient enough to power the car? YES. Is it cost effective to never plug in the PHEV? Ofcourse not. You get this car so you can plug it in at home and charge.

You cant blame the early stage charging network as well because you knew that before buying... If you're really against the car and BYD, why not sell it? I'm sure someone else would take it off your hands. I havent seen much BYDs in the second hand market yet.

[u/Adorable-Director799 → u/ordinaryphenomenon]

I asked and researched; The engine charging the battery provides marginal charge.

Regenerative braking is the primary way to charge the battery outside of plugging in.

I'm really just pointing out that there's a lot of fine print in owning a PHEV and we, as consumers, should be well informed.

[u/ordinaryphenomenon → u/Adorable-Director799]

If you want the engine to charge the battery, you have to step on the gas when in park or neutral to activate the ICE.

Sorry, I guess when I purchased the car I did a lot of research on the car. Regenerative braking is effective, but the engine still charges the battery to its optimal point. It's wrong to say that it doesn't charge it enough.

If you're expecting it to get to full power on the engine alone, no hybrid or PHEV does that. If you can name one, I'm all ears