Philippine Automotive History Book Project

[jpdm]

Old article about Franscisco Motors Corp (FMC)....

[SIZE=4]Jeepney Goes Electric[/SIZE]

Ask people who have visited the Philippines what the principal mode of transportation is and chances are they will show you a handmade miniature jeepney they got as a souvenir.

No doubt, the jeepney has become a Philippine icon, embodying everything – good and bad – about Filipino life. It is practical, easy to maintain, has a festive design, and can carry the whole clan anywhere, come hell or high water.

But the jeepney is dying. Its market has been eaten up by more comfortable (read: luxurious) Asian and sport utility vehicles. Two years ago, Sarao Motors, the company whose name is most synonymous to jeepney-making, closed down, blaming the government for its lack of protection and incentives. At the rate jeepney sales are going, the industry seems to be doing a full circle by going back to the backyard talyers where it all started.

Comes now Francisco Motors Corp. (FMC), the oldest existing jeepney-making company in this land. Once considered the country’s second biggest manufacturer of jeepneys (its founder was even once hailed as the Henry Ford of the Philippines), FMC has come up with an innovation – a jeepney that runs completely on batteries.

The electric jeepney, as the vehicle is called, has been in the development stage since 1998. It was the vision of the late senator Raul Manglapus to produce the first Filipino electric vehicle to minimize pollution in the country. Known for being a nationalist, Manglapus put up the Centennial Philippine Motor Corp. (CPMC) as well as the Filipino Car Foundation to make his vision a reality.

The 18-seater white jeepney with blue, yellow and red stripes and a half sun on the side is FMC’s third attempt at producing an electric vehicle. The first attempt was a smaller jeepney, then the second was an Anfra AUV that still runs until now.

The electric jeepney’s appearance is very similar to the traditional jeepney. However, under its bare hood (sorry, no metal horses here) whirs a 20-horsepower DC motor that FMC bought from the United States.

The motor gets its power from the 16 batteries that is lined up in a series under the jeepney’s flooring. With its still very limited power, the vehicle can only run for 50 kilometers at a maximum speed of 55 kilometers per hour. It is not that impressive compared to electric vehicles in more advanced countries. But hey, with the traffic, who needs a fast jeepney?

Jun Fermin, product development engineer at FMC, said one needs simply to plug the vehicle to an electric outlet to charge its batteries. "The batteries need five to eight hours to be fully charged to 96 volts," he said. "The batteries were also imported from the US but now there is a Korean firm that makes it here."

The jeepney accelerated smoothly, with no noise whatsoever, making its occupants feel as if they were riding a push cart. "Is the motor running already?" they asked Fermin. He, too, was a bit disoriented. "I think so. We’re moving."

There are two pedals on the driver’s side, one to get the vehicle moving and the other to put it to stop. Fermin pressed a switch on the flat dashboard to go on reverse. "This is very simple. It’s very much like a golf cart," he said.

Fermin said three chains transfer the power from the motor to the front wheel differential. At night, the battery runs shorter since the headlamps and rear lamps consume some of the power.

The electric jeepney was developed to the tune of P600,000, almost double the cost needed for a traditional jeepney. The funding was provided by Manglapus’ CPMC, which, incidentally, has FMC head Antonio Francisco on the board.

Despite its achievement with the electric jeepney, FMC remains in dire straits as a company. After 55-years of producing millions of people haulers, it is struggling to keep both ends meet, having lost the franchise to make Mazda pickups and vans (it has a pending legal battle against Ford Motor Co.) and the right to assemble and market Hyundai vehicles. It is now running on slow mode to remain afloat.

Aside from jeepney making, which has vastly slowed down, FMC derives revenues from the remanufacture of Korean engines that it markets to owners of jeepneys and Anfras. But again, this may not be enough to keep FMC alive.

Sources within the company say FMC now operates only on half capacity after cutting its workforce by more than 40 percent due to low market demand. Its employees now report to work three days in a week and they build only an average of six units of jeepneys a month. Such is a pathetic figure considering the size of FMC’s plant in Las Piñas. By Junep Ocampo

from
e-Balita
October 3, 2002

[SIZE=2][SIZE=2]
[/SIZE][/SIZE]

[jpdm]

A comment made a couple of years ago by a leading presidential candidate in the upcoming 2010 election, Sen. Manny Villar:

A historical comment on the now aborted PHUV project.

People's car a premature idea
by Manny Villar

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/oped04.php

THE term “people’s car,” the production of which has been proposed by some quarters and supported by the Board of Investments or BOI, is misleading. For it implies that the car’s price will be within reach of most Filipinos. Even the backyard-assembled jeep commonly known as “owner” is beyond the reach of most Filipinos. And yet it costs as low as P50,000 (using the cheapest second-hand engine and parts from junk shops, plus a lot of free labor from friends knowledgeable in automotive mechanics).

And that’s less than a third of the P350,000 entry price for the proposed people’s car. We have to admit, Filipino wage earners are not in the league of workers in developed countries like the United States, where a minimum-wage employee can afford to buy a new car, on installment. Here, if you’re making P10,000 a month, you may even find it difficult to buy a motorcycle on installment without a comaker.

Let me clarify this. As a businessman and a lawmaker, I am in full support of having a truly Philippine-made motor vehicle. I also sympathize with the motor vehicle parts manufacturers, which broached the idea to increase domestic car assembly amid the increasing importation of completely built units (CBUs).

The major players in the automotive industry import CBUs primarily for new models so they can sell the units in the market immediately. In contrast, CKDs, which are primarily made up of engine, power train and chassis, require a substantial amount of parts and components from local manufacturers.

Importing CBUs makes good sense in marketing, but takes away business from local parts manufacturers.

In support of the parts makers’ proposal, the government, through the BOI, has announced that it will grant pioneer incentives to the assembly of vehicles under a people’s car program.

The objective is good, but it is such a misplaced generosity, which has no place in governance, particularly when it concerns economic policy. As I mentioned above, the Filipino people, particularly the masses, are not yet on an income level that can afford to buy brand-new vehicles. The government is making a promise it cannot keep by saying it is supporting the assembly of mass-affordable motor vehicles.

Just look at the Proton, which was developed by Malaysia, some of which even found their way to the Philippine market. It’s Malaysia’s people’s car, and it failed, even though Malaysians have a higher per capita income than Filipinos.

The Philippines also produced people’s car models even earlier than the Malaysians. Remember the Sakbayan, the very ugly box on four wheels with a Volkswagen engine? It was used mostly by law enforcement and other government agencies, which apparently were required to buy the locally produced vehicle as an incentive to the industry. Are we going to require our hemorrhaging government corporations to buy the proposed people’s car? That’s nothing more than a subsidy, in another form.

I still see one or two Sakbayans on the road, but most of them are gone. It’s bigger brother, the Trakbayan, is gone, so is the Harabas of General Motors or the Cimarron of Chrysler. Darwin’s law of the survival of the fittest applies to industry, too, you know.

A recent and better-looking people’s car was the Kia Pride. We still see quite a number of them on the road, mostly being used as taxicabs. It has since been replaced by a newer, more expensive model.

And now we’re building a people’s car, again? It’s a nice topic for conversation, but right now it should go no farther than coffee-table talk. On the other hand, let’s encourage the automotive companies to develop cars that will use more locally made parts than their imported models.

But let’s not force the industry to go into the mass production of a people’s car. Even the Philippine market is not big enough to buy all the people’s car that these companies can produce. Generally speaking, all the assembly plants in the country are operating only part of their capacities.

Perhaps, when we begin to grow by 8 percent in terms of gross domestic product, and that means the economy is really sizzling hot, Filipino households will generate enough income to afford to buy brand-new cars. That is the time when we can consider producing a people’s car.

Right now, I doubt that anybody will be investing a lot of money in a people’s-car project.

[monetto]

Mga kasama , may mga nakalimutan pa yata kayong mga naging modelo ng mga sasakyng ginawa dito sa atin, kasi ang sa natatandaan ko nuong kapanahunan ni Marcos ay inubliga ng lahat ng mga Car manufacturer na gumawa ng Local Pinoy vehicle,

Toyota- Tamaraw
Ford - Fiera
VW - Sakbayan at Trakbayan
Ung isa pa ay di ko na matnadaan panagaln senya na , pero sa tutuo lang yang mga sasakyan na yan ay nag bigay ng trabaho sa mga pinoy nun at kinagat ng mga pinoy kasi nga mura at mahusay din naman.
Sa natatandaan ko nung mga 80's akoy nadaan sa Tahiland at nakita ko ung Ford Fiera at Tamaraw ay meron sila nun, ibig sabihin iniexport natin nun un sa kanila at ng napunta naman ako nung mga 95 sa Bunie at Malaysia meron parin akong nakita nun dun . At ung nung lumabas na ung Bagong modelo ng Toyota tamaraw na ngayon na ay inixport na sa atin un . pero sa nalalaman ko ang mnag Design ng Bagong Tamaraw na lumabas na dito ngayon ay PILIPINO un . Dahil nga nag sara na ang TOYOTA dito nuon sa atin sa Indonisia nila un ginawa at dun na lahat nangaling ang mga Bagong Modelo ng Tamaray natin
Kaya nga ang malaysia at Indonisia ay gumaya narin sa atin nun sa pag gawa ng Lokal na sasakyan, gaya ng kaninlang Proton. yan lang po ang aking natantandaan sa histori ng ating sasakyan kasi po nakita ko lahat ang mga yan at nag karuon din po kami nun.

[jpdm]

Nakalimutan mo mga Panther, Parejo, Dragon, Carter, Castro at Anfra.

[jpdm]

Interesting article..

[SIZE=3]Silverio’s automotive comeback
[/SIZE]

HE may be getting hammered by two playboy sons who could not wait until after their old man meets his maker to get their hands on their parents’ wealth, but Ricardo Silverio Sr. is determined to make a comeback in the automobile market despite his turning 80 in November.

Best known for having successfully introduced and nurtured Toyota in the Philippines, the senior Silverio has acquired the dealership of Chinese automobile company Hafei and has actually been quietly selling Hafei minivans and minitrucks from his sprawling compound in San Rafael, Bulacan, where he is the town mayor.


Silverio is apparently following the marketing strategy he used in introducing the then relatively unknown Toyota in the early 1960s—by selling competitively priced light commercial vehicles first.


His strategy paid off, and Toyota gained respectability after Silverio managed to convince the late Enrique Zobel to accept Toyota light trucks as payment for a piece of the Calatagan subdivision that he was developing.


According to his counsel Vicente Chuidian, Silverio is also scouting for a showroom somewhere in Makati or The Fort, since the San Rafael compound is actually the mayor’s tilapia (St. Peter”s fish) and pigeon farm.


Manila Standard
Oct. 16, 2009



(Web site: www.cocktales.ph; e-mail: cocktales_mst*pldtdsl.net)

[ejgambe]

Gawa tayo ng FILMO (Filipino Motors Inc.) :D

[ejgambe]

Marami namang magagaling na pinoy eh, deprived lang karamihan tapos kulang sa motivation. Gawa tayo ng FILMOI (Filipino Motors Inc.) :D

[Benji_DCP]

Interesting article..

We can credit Silverio for the Delta Mini Cruiser. If only if was offered for sale to the public, unfortunately the unseen hand of its major patron then prevented its introduction to consumers back in the late 70's and early 80's.

[ehnriko]

Marami namang magagaling na pinoy eh, deprived lang karamihan tapos kulang sa motivation. Gawa tayo ng FILMOI (Filipino Motors Inc.) :D

FILMOCO. (Feel mo ako)

FIlipino Motors Company


Sounds Good!

[kitsons]

Nakalimutan mo mga Panther, Parejo, Dragon, Carter, Castro at Anfra.

Pareho, Panther at anfra lang kilala ko sa minention mo JPDM. Not sure if memeory is right but seem to have recollection of perho as already during Cory's time.

[kitsons]

FILMOCO. (Feel mo ako)

FIlipino Motors Company


Sounds Good!

Sounds good kaya lang parang may sabit with the old san mig ad bilmoko naI associate with something a bit negative... of course baka sa akin lang to. Siguro para feel na feel, FilMo. Com

o expounded Feel mo ko that company... haaay iba dating ata... hihihihi

[jpdm]

Pareho, Panther at anfra lang kilala ko sa minention mo JPDM. Not sure if memeory is right but seem to have recollection of perho as already during Cory's time.

Yes, during Cory's time. The golden years of Philippine AUV.

Sana maulit.

Of course, malabo lalo ngayong panahon with this stupid massive importation binge centered policy of Ate glue and her gang.

[ghosthunter]

Yes, during Cory's time. The golden years of Philippine AUV.

Sana maulit.

Of course, malabo lalo ngayong panahon with this stupid massive importation binge centered policy of Ate glue and her gang.

It's not just PGMA, it is everyone. Why maintain a manufacturing facility when you can import the same item and sell it to the customer cheaper than what it would cost to manufacture it locally? This is the reason why the local plastic products manufacturing has nearly died out. And everyone is always looking for the cheaper alternative even if that alternative is "Made in China".

[jpdm]

PGMA failed to keep her promises of reducing power cost, improve infrastructure and red tape ( including graft and corruption that comes with it) to make business in the country viable.

At the same time she has been aggressive in bringing down tariffs to the detriment of existing local industries.

So, its time to rectify her wrong policies including her massive importation policy.

I say again, there is a need to support (all) local industries. In the case of the auto industry, ban all used imported vehicles.

[jpdm]

PGMA failed to keep her promises of reducing power cost, improve infrastructure and red tape ( including graft and corruption that comes with it) to make business in the country viable.

At the same time she has been aggressive in bringing down tariffs to the detriment of existing local industries.

So, its time to rectify her wrong policies including her massive importation policy.

I say again, there is a need to support (all) local industries. In the case of the auto industry, ban all used imported vehicles.

The almost demise of the true local auto industry was the result of the implementation of wrong policies after Cory. As a matter of fact, the liberalization program of Ramos and the witch named Ate Glue plus her stupid privatization "projects" (with tongpats) has turned a vibrant local manufacturing industry into where it is now, in ICU. Proton Industrial project of Malaysia despite its weaknesses remains to be the greatest example of how a state can jump start industrial development in country.Petronas is another example of a guided development...

Check what is wrong about an industry related to our transportation woes...

Me to Ate Glue: Told you so about Petron

DEMAND AND SUPPLY
By Boo Chanco
(The Philippine Star)
Updated November 02, 2009 12:00 AM

When [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]Finance[/color][/color] Secretary Gary Teves was hell-bent on selling the 40-percent government ownership in Petron, I wrote in this column that they are making a big mistake. Completely selling out of Petron will shut out government’s ability to properly regulate this vital industry. It also reduces government’s options when push comes to shove in the matter of supply assurance.


Now, I can say, I told you so, Ate Glue! Gary T was desperate to plug the budget deficit and in the process sacrificed a long term principle for short term exigency. The oil industry is like no other in the business sector. It is absolutely vital. And it is complicated. The best way to really understand it is to be involved in it.


I guess a 100-percent government owned oil company is also not advisable. In fact, that may even be counter productive because politicians will feel free to abuse it to the point of bankruptcy. FVR had the right formula: 40-percent [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]government[/color][/color], 40 strategic partner (one who can provide supply assurance and/or technical support) and 20-percent public ownership through the stock market. Now you can say only one group owns Petron and very little public or free float.


A 30-to 40-percent market share for Petron is enough for it to set standards for the rest of the industry. If Petron sets a pricing policy based on FIFO rather than on current cost of supplies or LIFO which is the industry practice even abroad, the others will have to adjust. When I was with Petron during the Velasco days, we were always able to make [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]Shell[/color][/color] and Caltex follow our pricing initiatives.


Now, Ate Glue will have to plead with the investors behind the Ashmore buy-in to Petron to work against their interest and take the consumer view in their pricing. She will also have to convince San Miguel, the other big owner of Petron, to do likewise. I am sure Ate Glue can be persuasive when she wants to, but is this something she wants to be convincing about?Even Petron is now pointing out how they will lose P1.5 billion in Q4 and a careful reading of their press releases shows a disinclination to import beyond what they now have in inventory unless the price [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]cap[/color][/color] is removed. That’s just good governance for Petron’s management whose primary responsibility is to their stockholders.

Indeed, here’s something interesting from Platts: “Petron buying only one of the two gasoil cargoes it had originally sought via a tender released on Oct. 23, the same day the government issued the executive order. The oil company had initially stated it was seeking two 250,000-barrel cargoes of 500 ppm sulfur gasoil over Nov. 9 to13 and 22 to 26, but canceled the latter.” If Petron is doing this, it looks like the oil [COLOR=blue ! important][COLOR=blue ! important]companies[/color][/color] are really in no mood to lose money.


I think government, whether this one or the next one should buy back the 40 percent of Petron that Gary Teves sold. Doing so is in the national interest. FVR’s formula is still the best, the most practical approach to the industry. And government must learn from this experience that it is stupid to sacrifice a long term strategic principle for short term exigencies.

[niky]

The big problem is that the ASEAN free trade zone is turning the market into a "survival of the fittest" system... and compared to the likes of Indonesia and Malaysia, we certainly aren't "fit".

But that can work both ways... if we can capture some of that market with local products, we can be competitive because of the low tariffs... we just need to find the proper niche.

That's why so many Chinese companies are interested in the Philippines... it's a foot in the door for the growing ASEAN market. We just have to make sure that we can successfully exploit this partnership through technology transfer before they pull out.

-

As for Petron... ha... the government dug its own grave... now it has to live with those consequences. The current brouhaha over gasoline prices would not exist if the government hadn't sold its stake... but even before then, the government never really used its stake in Petron to affect gas prices... know why? They didn't really want to lose money on their stock options... just like the other investors, and they recognized the logic of the pricing strategy.

Of course, that didn't stop them from making "pa-cute-cute" with the transport groups and explaining to them: "hey, it's not our fault... blame the oil companies!"... while still accepting their dividends from those shares...

[jpdm]

Broken promises and misrule by this Arroyo government brought our competitiveness way down compared to our other neighbors.

Anyway, its not hopeless because, despite the failures of our government., there are Pinoy companies striving here and abroad. Liwayway Marketing/ Oishi of the Chans, JGSummit and Splash of Hortalezas are making inroads in ASEAN. Aside of course from San MIguel and Jollibee.

In vehicles manufacturing, the Japanese are doing it. Ford is also doing it ( Ford Philippines just exported Philippine assembled CBUs to Indonesia.)

Yes, The Chinese wants to use us as a manufacturing and exporting hub for their cars to the ASEAN but I think they have done it already in Indonesia (Chery assembled in Indonesia). Anyway, Im hoping they will make it a reality.

[Meister001]

Anyway, its not hopeless because, despite the failures of our government., there are Pinoy companies striving here and abroad. Liwayway Marketing/ Oishi of the Chans, JGSummit and Splash of Hortalezas are making inroads in ASEAN. Aside of course from San MIguel and Jollibee.

Lumaki sila dahil sa sariking sikap at di dahil sa tulong ng gobyerno. Ang sayang dyan, dapat masmarami pa dapat pang ibang kompanya na nakalista ngunit dahil sa korupsyon, yung mga iba, di lang hindi lumaki, bumagsak pa at yung mga empleyado nila nawala ng trabaho.

In vehicles manufacturing, the Japanese are doing it. Ford is also doing it ( Ford Philippines just exported Philippine assembled CBUs to Indonesia.)

Yes, The Chinese wants to use us as a manufacturing and exporting hub for their cars to the ASEAN but I think they have done it already in Indonesia (Chery assembled in Indonesia). Anyway, Im hoping they will make it a reality.

Kung ganito lang gagawin, eh parang nagpadala na rin tayo ng mga OFW sa China dahil puro labor lang ang ginagawa natin.

[jpdm]

Lumaki sila dahil sa sariking sikap at di dahil sa tulong ng gobyerno. Ang sayang dyan, dapat masmarami pa dapat pang ibang kompanya na nakalista ngunit dahil sa korupsyon, yung mga iba, di lang hindi lumaki, bumagsak pa at yung mga empleyado nila nawala ng trabaho.

Yes.

Kung ganito lang gagawin, eh parang nagpadala na rin tayo ng mga OFW sa China dahil puro labor lang ang ginagawa natin.

Hindi rin.

[KCMenteryo]

Hello Guys,

May I ask what happen to the book? is it still in progress? do we have timeline to finnish and compile? or tapos na?

Thanks