Auto parts makers plan to mass-produce electric jeepneys as the Land Transportation Office has issued license plates for the pioneering unit that is being used in Makati City.

The Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (MVPMAP), in partnership with the Green Renewable Independent Power Producer (GRIPP), is pilot-testing a locally assembled e-jeepney that plies the Legaspi Village route in the Makati business district.

“This signals the birth of a cleaner alternative in the mass public transport system in our country,” said MVPMAP director Ferdinand Raquelsantos.

Raquelsantos, who is also president of the group’s business arm PhUV Inc., said mass production of the e-jeepney—which is locally designed, fabricated and assembled—would begin “in the next few months.”

“A second e-jeepney will soon start plying the Salcedo Village route in Makati City,” he added.

Under a memorandum of agreement with GRIPP that was entered into earlier this year, the MVPMAP is committed to produce 44 e-jeepney units. With editing by INQUIRER.net