Another eco-friendly vehicle hits the market, but unfortunately, it’s not American made. That’s right, we’ve been outdone again. When will American auto manufacturers go green? Oh, yes, when they get more green bail out money. Maybe the Philippine Utility Vehicle, Inc. and Green Renewable Independent Power Producer, Inc. team can show them the way. The duo recently launched an electric passenger vehicle, the E-jeepney, in an effort to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.

 The E-jeepney has a battery that after charging during your nine-to-five workday, is ready to travel for up to 55 miles at speeds of nearly 40 miles an hour, but is most efficient at 30 miles. It is well-suited for neighborhoods and city streets.Like other all-electric vehicles, it lacks a combustion engine and therefore does not emit pollutants.

Because the E-jeepney can hold up to 14 people, the vehicle can serve as a green option for transportation fleets. For example, the most common use of the vehicle is for tourist travels. But, it can also be applied to airport carriers, which shuttle up to eight passengers around the clock, could do so with more passengers, fewer trips, and nearly zero emissions (depending on a few factors like: enclosing the vehicle, round-trip miles traveled, and whether or not the electricity charging the battery is powered by renewables). Other applications for the E-jeepney may be at schools or company fleets.

Conversion of fleets to electric vehicles like the E-jeepney is one more incremental step in moving the world off of fossil fuels for transportation even if the vehicles are charged with electricity powered by fossil fuels. Why? Next to building consumption, transportation is the largest user of fossil fuel. In eliminating the second largest contributor, think of all the savings in fossil fuels, and the breadth of knowledge we will gain to better inform taking the world off a fossil fuel based electric grid. Many incremental steps…maybe that is all it will take.

Image: Greenpeace