Speech by Endika Aboitiz at the QEV E-Jeepney Launch
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Aboitiz Eyes
Good afternoon, one and all.
Mrs. Ball Dominguez—thank you, we are honored,
Secretary Sonny,
Secretary Art,
Secretary Al,
Our friends from the Senate,
Our many friends from government and media,
Our friends from business,
Our partners in this exciting venture—
Thank you all for coming.
What we launch tonight is a project that will take all of us to be successful so I welcome and thank all of you for being here with us.
The impact is going to be felt by our children and by theirs. I never thought I would be thinking as the grandfather that my dear Mariana has made me.
We would normally not launch a project without all Is being dotted and all Ts being crossed, in this case, we just do not have the time – our air gets dirtier by the second.
Earlier this year, we flew a jeepney to QEV Tech Barcelona’s R&D center to assess how to improve their electrification and we are working on that.
We could not wait so we brought in to Manila a half a dozen QEV engineers to work with a local jeepney manufacturing expert, the original makers of the jeepney themselves, the Saraos, to finally convert our quaint and unique jeepneys to electric.
Our moving jeepney museums can be converted instead of discarded. None of us would want the black cab of London put to pasture.
Our jeepney driver families — they can earn more money instead of losing their jobs.
We are there.
That prototype is outside.
You will see it through a live feed into this ballroom when we bring some of the cabinet members out to actually ride it. Perhaps we can convince Mrs. Dominguez to take Sec. Sonny for a ride.
It is here. It is running. It is real. And it’s easy to convert.
Today, it takes a week for us to transform a jeepney from a guzzling, polluting diesel consuming contraption to an efficient, clean, charming and modern electric public transport vehicle. Later in series and in a production line with Sarao we think we can bring that down to 24 hours.
Our jeepney as an icon is as Filipino as it gets. We have all ridden it to school, or to work or to market.
Tourism Manila needs content added and not removed.
We are in very advanced discussions with Ayala, SM, Shell, Meralco, Sarao, and AboitizPower to create the egg, the electric jeepney.
Our business at QEV is to charge batteries. We will locate chargers at Ayala and SM malls and Shell petrol stations to start. Meralco will connect us to our power generator, AboitizPower.
“We are in very advanced discussions with Ayala, SM, Shell, Meralco, Sarao, and AboitizPower to create the egg, the electric jeepney.”
I am sure Secretary Cusi can fast track aggregation so I can squeeze my brother Montxu for a cheaper price for our e jeepney drivers – half CSR, half capitalism. Their excitement is encouraging.
ABB is our charging station partner; their charging stations can fully charge our jeepneys in 15 minutes for a 150-km range. That will come down to minutes in the future.
We welcome our partners – we are the egg. Now we need the chicken – the Philippine government.
The Department of Finance has to pay for the conversions. This can be more powerful an economic multiplier than the conditional cash transfers – peso per peso.
E-drivers will earn more, pollute nothing at all, increase availability and lower their maintenance costs. We can move the e-jeepney driver to the lower middle class overnight.
When Enrique and I presented this project to Secretary Dominguez, it took him less than the blink of an eye so figure out how to do it. His excitement is what rang in in Enrique Banuelos’ brain — do it now. Don’t wait. Convert now.
This was a few months ago. DOTr and DOE have to configure regulation to speed things along for our e drivers and for our cleaner air. If Secretary Cusi can get a power plant approved in 30 days, we are confident he can give the jeepney driver what he needs in a week. After all, there are 300,000 jeepneys out there – you do the math on the multiplier.
Sec. Art, we look at this as a way to lessen your present headache and get you and the jeepney drivers to be the best of friends.
GM Didi from PAGCOR can also help finance our e-drivers as a better use of their growing funds from the privatization of gambling.
It will take all of us.
It will take a sense of urgency.
It will take us as a team.
My partner, Enrique Banuelos of QEV Worldwide, is running around the world making deals from Iparanga stations in Brazil to Hertz rent-a-car in Mallorca, which wants all rent-a-cars in Mallorca to be electric in a five-year period to protect that micro-climate there. He will talk to you about what he is doing around the world.
After Enrique’s talk, we will show you a few videos that we hope will turn you on.
Read more on the launch of QEV Philippines’ e-jeepney:
