THE QUEST FOR THE FILIPINO CAR

THE QUEST FOR THE FILIPINO CAR

My dear countrymen, some of you might remember the Ford Fiera and the Volkswagen Sakbayan. Both were built with foreign engines, but I believe in my heart that as far as I am concerned, they were Filipino cars, as Filipino as the jeepneys that were also built with foreign engines. But if I may ask you, what is it that makes a Filipino car? Is it a Filipino engine? Or is it a Filipino chassis with a Filipino body? While we were debating that, the Malaysians built their Proton with a Mitshubishi engine, but with a Malaysian body and chassis.

I recall that it was the late Senator Raul S. Manglapus who championed the idea of building a Filipino car. Sad to say, his idea never materialized, because we were unable to build a Filipino engine. However, it could be said that his idea became partially true with the introduction of the Fiera and the Sakbayan. But where do we go from here? Since the world is going towards using electric vehicles (EVs), we should go towards that direction, without turning back anymore.

To be able to go towards that direction, why don’t we start with what we already have? Rather than start with nothing but a drawing board, why don’t we just fund the solar vehicle products of DLSU? Upon checking, it turns out that the Sikat II model of DLSU is an electric vehicle (EV), because it uses electric energy that is fed into its batteries by solar panels equipped with photovoltaic cells. Can we therefore call Sikat II a solar vehicle? My answer is yes, but we can also call it an EV!

In the United States, the National Science Foundation (NSF) funds the R&D of universities, including private universities. Can we do that here? Can the DOST fund the R&D of private universities like DLSU? I think that can be done, and likely, there is already a legal basis for that. If not, perhaps the President can make an exception, citing the national interest as the justification.  To kick the ball rolling, perhaps the President could convene a Technical Working Group (TWG) that could come up with an action plan towards this goal.

Among others, the TWG could be composed of DOST, DOE, DOTr and DLSU, among others. Because of our robust jeepney manufacturing industry, I do not think that we would have a problem with making any chassis of any design. However, we could have a problem with making the car bodies, because we previously lacked the stamping plants for body parts. If that is still a problem, perhaps we could shift our focus towards fiberglass instead.

The good news is, there are already two local companies that are making electric motors. One of them, IMI is already making EV motorcycles. The other one, To-Jo Motors is already making EV jeepneys and EV tricycles. How far are these two companies from making an EV car? Or shall I say the first purebred Filipino car, and not a “Mestizo” car? Your friend, IKE SENERES/12-08-24/visit my blog senseneres.blogspot.com

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