Francisco Motors, one of the Philippines’ pioneering jeepney manufacturers, is preparing a $100-million investment proposal to build two electric vehicle models under the government’s EV Incentive Strategy (EVIS) program, company chair Elmer Francisco confirmed to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
The proposed investment, equivalent to more than ₱6 billion, exceeds the ₱5-billion minimum required under EVIS. Under Executive Order No. 121, which established the program, each qualified EV model can receive fiscal incentives worth up to ₱15 billion, drawn from a total program ceiling of ₱60 billion. Tech Pilipinas previously reported that EVIS also grants a Production Volume Incentive of up to 12 percent of a vehicle’s ex-factory price, capped at ₱200,000 per unit, for manufacturers that produce at least 10,000 units of an enrolled model.
One of Francisco Motors’ two planned entries is an electric version of the jeepney. The company says the standard variant will travel 100 to 150 kilometers per charge, with a long-range version reaching up to 250 kilometers. The vehicle will seat 22 passengers with standing room for eight more, reach a top speed of 90 kilometers per hour, and use a lithium iron phosphate battery that charges to 80 percent in about an hour.
The company’s second entry, a battery-powered compact SUV called the Elektron, will offer a driving range of 400 to 600 kilometers and up to 340 kilowatts of power. Its top-of-the-line variant will retail for ₱1.95 million.
“We built the first jeepney in 1947, and we have been building them since,” Francisco said in an email interview. “Evis is the first policy instrument in a long time that lets a Filipino manufacturer compete on manufacturing rather than on distribution, and electrification is what makes it possible.”
Francisco said the electric jeepney was designed with the country’s estimated 250,000 traditional jeepneys still awaiting replacement in mind, while the Elektron targets private buyers. “They cover both halves of the Philippine market rather than competing for the same buyer,” he said.
Components for both vehicles – including the body shell, chassis structure, wiring harness, and battery pack – will be produced at a dedicated Francisco Motors facility. While a foreign partner has expressed interest in co-investing in that facility, Francisco said that the $100-million EVIS investment will come directly from the company. “We work with technology partners, in California and in Asia, selected for specific manufacturing and systems capability. These are technology transfer relationships,” he said. “The point is that the capability ends up resident here, in Filipino hands.”
The company is preparing its formal EVIS application while awaiting the release of the program’s implementing rules. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. remains the only other automaker to have publicly committed to EVIS, pledging ₱7 billion to manufacture a hybrid EV at its Santa Rosa, Laguna plant, as Tech Pilipinas reported when President Marcos signed EO 121 in July. The Board of Investments, which administers the program, has said two additional local automakers have expressed interest and may seek foreign partners to qualify.
“One Filipino carmaker is an anomaly. Several is an industry, and an industry is what actually produces suppliers, engineers and jobs,” Francisco said. “I would rather compete for a slot against a Filipino rival than hold one uncontested.”
