Former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson led the inauguration of an electric vehicle factory in Malvar, Batangas seen as a major step in resolving the country’s mass transport system.
The new facility eyes as its principal clientele the estimated 14,000 jeepney operators across the country.
“Makikinabang sila, in 2-3 years bayad na, depende sa gagawin nila dahil wala ng fuel. (They will benefit from this. The e-jeepneys will be payable in two to three years, depends on how they use it because no fuel is needed,” Singson told reporters at the sideline of the event.
He said the e-jeepneys will cost P1.2 million apiece, making it an ”affordable alternative for transport cooperatives.”
For his part, Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipino (LTOP) president Orlando Marquez lauded the country’s “first ever e-vehicle factory.”
These modern e-vehicles are part of a nationwide initiative to modernize the public transport system by replacing old, polluting, and inefficient vehicles with eco-friendly alternatives, Marquez added.
Singson also explained that the production capacity of the plant e-vehicles is a maximum of 500 units per month, with hundreds of applicants from across the country already looking forward to acquiring a unit.
Singson earlier cited his commitment to support the government’s Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP) by ensuring the availability of loans for modern electric vehicles for transport operators at no down payment, no interest schemes.
The government rolled out the PTMP to address the country’s growing public transportation challenges, with an eye on replacing outdated jeepneys with environment-friendly modern units.
Aside from e-jeeps, the new factory can also produce e-motorcycles and e-tricycles costing P69,000 to P229,000.
