Sarao Motors is developing a next-generation electric jeepney, and the company behind it has a claim to this vehicle category that no competitor in the Philippine EV space can match: it’s the original manufacturer that invented the modern Philippine jeepney in the first place. Founded in 1953 by Leonardo S. Sarao — a former kalesa driver turned mechanic from Imus, Cavite, who started the business with just ₱700 in borrowed capital — the company built its name by modifying surplus US military jeeps left behind after World War II, extending their frames, expanding seating, and adding the vibrant decorative flourishes that became the jeepney’s signature look. Seven decades later, that same company is now building an electric successor, with development and costing expected to wrap up by the end of 2026, paving the way toward commercial production.
Real Specs, Not a Concept
The new electric jeepney is a genuine, engineered vehicle rather than a design study: an 88-kilowatt-hour battery pack delivers roughly 400 kilometers of range, with AC charging taking about 8 hours and DC fast charging cutting that to roughly 45 minutes. It carries around 25 passengers including standing commuters — matching the real-world capacity Filipino commuters expect from a jeepney route — while adding air conditioning, Wi-Fi connectivity, CCTV cameras, and accessibility features for persons with disabilities that the traditional diesel jeepney never offered. The vehicle meets Philippine National Standards for public utility vehicles, and its electric powertrain comes through a partnership with Australian firm Tembo e-LV. Notably, this isn’t Sarao’s first attempt: an earlier fully electric model built with QEV Philippines saw limited adoption, and this new version was redesigned from the ground up based on lessons from that first, less successful run.
The Real Fight Is Over What a Jeepney Is Allowed to Look Like
The most striking part of Sarao’s public framing isn’t the spec sheet — it’s a direct, cultural argument against the modernization program’s tendency to produce plain, minibus-style vehicles in place of jeepneys. Leonard John Sarao, the company’s operations supervisor, put it bluntly: “Our vision is to integrate modern technology while keeping the spirit of the traditional jeepney alive. We want people to immediately recognize it as a jeepney — not just another minibus.” He went further on what’s actually at stake: “If all we see on the streets are plain white vehicles, we lose a part of our culture. We’re trying to pay tribute to the traditional jeepney by incorporating its design, vibrant character and craftsmanship into our modern vehicles.” That’s a real tension inside the Philippines’ jeepney modernization program more broadly — LTFRB’s push toward standardized, often visually generic e-jeepney and minibus units, aimed at safety and efficiency, has drawn real pushback from operators and cultural commentators concerned the jeepney’s actual identity is being engineered out of existence in the process.
The Same Local-Manufacturing Gap EO 121 Is Trying to Close
Sarao’s own account of its biggest constraint lines up directly with the exact gap President Marcos’s newly signed Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy is aimed at closing: “We’re capable of designing and building the vehicle itself, but we’re still dependent on imported electric powertrains. Hopefully, with continued support for the local automotive industry, that will eventually change,” Sarao said. That dependency shows up directly in the vehicle’s estimated ₱3 million to ₱3.5 million retail price, attributed largely to imported batteries and powertrain components — a genuinely high price for a public utility vehicle, and a concrete illustration of exactly the cost problem EVIS’s manufacturing incentives are designed to address. Sarao is also working with the Philippine Textile Research Institute to incorporate natural fibers — coconut and banana — into seat cushioning, insulation, and soundproofing, a genuinely local-materials answer to at least part of the import-dependency problem, even while the core powertrain remains sourced from Australia.
What This Means for Philippine Founders
Sarao’s own diagnosis — strong local design and manufacturing capability, undercut by dependency on imported electric powertrains and batteries — is a precise, real-world illustration of the exact gap EO 121’s ₱60 billion manufacturing incentive program is aimed at closing, and a genuine opportunity signal for Philippine founders in battery technology, powertrain components, or EV supply chain manufacturing: an established, capable local vehicle manufacturer is actively naming imported powertrains as its single biggest cost and dependency problem. There’s also a broader lesson here for any founder building culturally-rooted products in a modernizing category: Sarao’s insistence on preserving the jeepney’s visual identity, rather than defaulting to a generic minibus form factor purely for engineering convenience, is a reminder that Filipino consumers and commuters have real, demonstrated attachment to cultural continuity — a factor worth building into product design deliberately, not treating as a marketing afterthought once the engineering is done.
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