PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Thursday electric tricycles (e-trikes) could be instrumental in reducing gasoline expenses, as the government aims to expand local electric vehicle manufacturing.
“Lower gasoline expenses mean more to take home for our families,” the president said in Filipino during a visit to the manufacturing and assembly plant of Sazgar Philippines Inc. in Biñan, Laguna.
Marcos said that tricycles typically travel about 90 kilometers a day in urban areas and 110 to 120 kilometers in the provinces.
He said Sazgar’s electric three-wheelers can travel 100 to 210 kilometers on a single six- to eight-hour charge, potentially covering tricycle drivers’ daily routes in both urban and provincial areas.
The Sazgar facility in Barangay Mamplasan has an annual assembly capacity of about 12,000 three-wheeled vehicles, including electric and internal combustion engine models.
The president said the investment could generate jobs, strengthen domestic manufacturing and create opportunities for Filipino suppliers of vehicle parts and components.
Sazgar Philippines, which is 60 percent Filipino-owned, operates the company’s first manufacturing facility outside Pakistan. The plant is also envisioned as its manufacturing hub for Southeast Asia.
Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon, Pakistani Ambassador to the Philippines Asima Rabbani, Sazgar Philippines President Muhammad Fahim and other government and company officials joined the president on his visit to the facility.
Marcos urged the company to source more components from local manufacturers to expand opportunities for Filipino businesses and workers.
The investment comes as the government pursues its target of achieving a 50 percent electric vehicle share in the country’s vehicle fleet by 2040 under its comprehensive roadmap for the electric vehicle industry.
