Sarao Motors, Inc. is a Filipino automotive

manufacturing company Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a range ...

headquartered in Brgy. Pulang Lupa in the city of

Las Piñas Las Piñas, officially the City of Las Piñas ( fil, Lungsod ng Las Piñas), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 606,293 people. Las Piñas ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. The company designs, engineers, manufactures and distributes the

jeepney Jeepneys (), sometimes called jeeps (), are minibus-like public utility vehicles, serving as the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. They are known for their crowded seating and kitsch decorations, which have become ...

, the most popular form of transportation in the country, labeled as the 'king of the road' in the Philippines."Sarao Jeepney"
. The Official Website of Las Piñas City. Retrieved on 2013-04-08.
Stuart Exchange. Retrieved on 2013-04-08. The company was first established as a small automotive shop in 1953 by starting

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

Leonardo Sarao, a mechanic and a former

calesa A kalesa or calesa is a two-wheeled horse-drawn carriage used in the Philippines. It is commonly vividly painted and decorated. It was a primary mode of public and private transportation during the Spanish colonial era of the Philippines, though ...

driver. From an initial budget of ₱700, the company grew into a multimillion corporation. At its peak, the ratio of Sarao jeepneys rolling the streets of Manila outnumbered other names by nearly 7 to 1, the name ''Sarao'' became synonymous with the vehicle. Sarao promoted the jeepney as a symbol of

Philippine culture The culture of the Philippines is characterized by cultural diversity. Although the multiple ethnic groups of the Philippine archipelago have only recently established a shared Filipino national identity, their cultures were all shaped by the ...

. A Sarao was exhibited at the Philippine pavilion at the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964–1965 New York World's Fair was a world's fair that held over 140 pavilions and 110 restaurants, representing 80 nations (hosted by 37), 24 US states, and over 45 corporations with the goal and the final result of building exhibits or ...

as a national image for the Filipinos.Mercado, Leonardo N
"The Filipino Mind - Chapter X: Microcosms, THE JEEPNEY AS MICROCOSM"
. Council for Research in Values and Philosophy. Retrieved on 2013-04-12. In 1971, a Sarao jeepney traveled from

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and all over Europe as the Philippine icon of the ''London-Manila Express'', a roadshow sponsored by the Philippine Tourism and Travel Association to boost the country's tourism and industry to European countries. Sarao is also a manufacturer of owner-type, custom-built jeepneys and other type of vehicles for schools, businesses and other institutions.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

rode on a specially built owner-type jeepney by Sarao during his first travel to the country in 1981. On October 2, 2000 Sarao Motors was forced to halt jeepney production due to rising costs. Sarao Motors' employees were downsized from 300 to only 50. The collection department was the only part of the company that remained operational. Sarao Motors eventually resumed its operation albeit in a lesser scale. Jeepney-Jan73 (25)

References

External links

A Sarao jeepney manufactured in 1955
{{Automotive industry in the Philippines Bus manufacturers of the Philippines Companies based in Las Piñas Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1953 Philippine brands Jeepneys