Modern jeepney to retain iconic look

by FRANCO JOSE C. BAROÑA ManilaTimes.net

A LOCAL company that has been building jeepneys for 76 years is taking the “King of the Road” to the modern age with its iconic look intact.

From diesel-fueled jeepneys, Francisco Motor Corp. (FMC) plans to shift to assembling public utility vehicles (PUVs) with electric motors that retain the jeepney’s traditional design.

Traditional jeepneys face possible extinction with the full implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).

“Since we are now engaging on full electric, I am going all in.

We will no longer make dieselpowered jeepneys,” Elmer Francisco, owner of FMC, told The Manila Times in an interview.

What the FMC did was modernize the jeepney to make it compliant with the PUVMP, said Francisco, whose uncle established the company in 1947.

The PUVMP aims to phase out all jeepneys that are 15 years old and older and replace them with brand new ones that conforms with the Philippine National Standards and powered by either an electric powertrain or at least a Euro 4 compliant diesel engine.

The fully electric Francisco Passenger Jeepney already