All jeepneys in the Philippines are facing the inevitable right now, as the country’s Jeepney Modernization program aims to phase out all aging jeepneys. The franchise consolidation may be extended until the end of January, but operators need to upgrade their current fleet of jeepneys, which can be expensive, costing around more than Php 2 million.

Francisco Motors, who is one of the well-known manufacturers of jeepneys in the Philippines, has been working on a modern jeepney that’s powered by an electric motor since 2018. Owner Elmer Francisco also said that they were able to made the cost for the first 1000 units priced at under Php 1 million–or Php 985,000 to be specific.

As much as we like the allure of modernizing the iconic jeepney with the use of electric motors and batteries, we still wonder if Francisco Motor’s proposed electric jeep is feasible. To know more about it, we interviewed Francisco to talk more about how the electric jeep was designed, and how they intend to address concerns like most, overall range, how to charge the batteries, aftersales service, and more.

Making it more affordable

While Francisco Motors already had an electric jeep concept as early as 2018, they did not made it available to the public because of how expensive it was. “Five years ago, kung nilabas ko yun Francisco (electric) jeepney, even I will not buy my jeepney,” Fransisco explained, adding that the initial cost back then was as high as Php 3.3 million.

However, the price of components have become more affordable through the years, which eventually made Francisco Motors be able to produce an electric jeep for under Php 1 million for the first 1000 buyers.

Around 60% of the electric jeep’s cost involves batteries, which is part of the 15% of the components that is currently sourced abroad. Francisco said that save for the batteries, at least 85% of the electric jeep–which includes the body and electric motor components–are manufactured in the Philippines.

Francisco said that they are working on making it possible to manufacture them in the Philippines–specifically in Camarines Norte, where all the electric jeeps will be manufactured.

To ensure the quality of the electric jeeps they will be manufacturing, Francisco Motors is working with engineers that have experience working with brands like Tesla, Toyota, and Rivian. Combined with their decades of experience of building jeepneys, Francisco remains confident that their proposed electric jeep will be successful.

Giving what’s needed

With batteries being the most expensive component in an electric jeep, Francisco explained that their studies on jeepney routes show that a 150km range is the most ideal. “Ang jeepney kasi, unlike yun mga long-haul delivery trucks, commercial vehicles, and private vehicles, pabalik-balik lang sa ruta,” Francisco explained. “The problem is unique, so dapat ang solution mo unique din.”

While it is possible to design an electric jeep that has a range of 400km, Francisco decided against it because it will inflate the overall cost and will make it heavier and less efficient. The idea of designing an electric jeep with “only” a 150km range is to cover a jeepney’s usual route.

Based on their study, the average length of a jeepney’s route can range anywhere between 4 to 15 kilometers in major areas like Metro Manila, and 15 to 35 kilometers for provincial routes. By using 15 kilometers as a baseline, Francisco Motors’ electric jeeps can cover around five round trips before needing a charge.

Unlike diesel-powered jeeps, Francisco explained that electric jeeps do not consume electricity while they are in idle in scenarios like being stuck in traffic. As for other components like air conditioning, stereo, and CCTV cameras, Francisco explained that these are powered by the usual 12v battery and that it charges partially together with the main high-voltage battery through regenerative braking.

Addressing concerns on charging and aftersales

Aside from range anxiety, one of the things we asked Francisco is how the electric jeeps will be charged. In the Philippines, there are only a few charging stations, with the majority of them being in Metro Manila and only a select few offering fast charging. There’s also a concern with the country’s power situation, with our electrical grid being barely sufficient to provide electricity to the entire country.

Francisco acknowledges this, and they are coordinating with LGUs in determining optimal locations to place charging stations for these electric jeeps. Aside from charging stations, Francisco explained that the modular batteries in their electric jeeps also means that jeepney drivers can opt to swap batteries for freshly charged ones. The solution is similar to Gogoro, except that Francisco’s solution involves stations that offer both charging and battery swapping.

The current design for the electric jeepney of Francisco Motors can fast charge its 50kWhr/125aH battery from 20% to 80% in 30 minutes. For compatibility, Francisco Motors will be using a CCS2 charger, which is the charging port standard that’s used by the majority of EVs in the Philippines.

For aftersales service, Francisco told us that they are working on a solution where they can repurpose the batteries as power storage for renewable energy once their life cycle ends. The current design of most EV batteries can last anywhere between 10 to 20 years depending on several factors. 

Electric jeeps are a good solution, but…

While the cost of the batteries and the deployment of charging/battery swapping stations is one of the major concerns in making Francisco Motors’ electric jeep feasible, the biggest contributing factor is support from the government. While the current administration has yet to give their pledge of Php 280,000 per unit for the first 5000 units, Francisco mentioned that they are in talks with the Maharlika Investment Corporation for additional funding.

“We are also in talks with Maharlika Investment Corporation on which side of history they would want to be remembered and how much they are willing to invest for nation building,” Francisco said.

Beyond the charging stations and battery swapping solutions, Francisco explained to us that they are working on another clean energy solution that involves solid state hydrogen stored in cylindrical disks. This is their next-best alternative in providing a hybrid solution for modern jeepneys.

While it will take them a few more years to have a working prototype, Francisco envisions these solid state hydrogen modules can be used as a power bank of sorts to partially charge the electric jeep without drastically adding weight–and be a source of clean energy since the byproduct of hydrogen is water.

As how it stands, the rollout of these electric jeeps will depend on how much the government will support the initiative, and how committed they are in deploying all the infrastructure that Francisco Motors needs in order to make the project successful. Francisco Motors already made the first move in making these electric jeeps more affordable, and we need a good follow through to make the modern jeepney a reality.

If the electric jeep (or its current iteration) does not succeed in 2024, it might be worth waiting a few more years until Francisco Motors can showcase a viable prototype of a hybrid jeep that’s powered by both hydrogen and electric.