Sazgar opens its first overseas plant in the Philippines, with 60 percent of output electric
The Lahore rickshaw maker will assemble about 12,000 three wheelers a year in Laguna, and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. used the opening to ask it to buy more parts locally.
Sazgar Engineering Works, the Lahore company that builds Pakistan's auto rickshaws, has opened its first factory outside the country. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. inaugurated the assembly plant in Biñan City, Laguna, on Thursday 29 October.
The plant is designed to assemble about 12,000 three wheeled vehicles a year. Electric models will make up 60 percent of the initial production mix, with internal combustion models making up the rest. The local business, Sazgar Philippines Inc., is 60 percent Filipino owned and, according to Sazgar, will serve as the company's regional hub for Southeast Asia. Muhammad Fahim is its president and chief executive.
The Pakistani embassy in Manila, which helped the company enter the market, said Sazgar is introducing passenger and commercial three wheelers as well as electric vehicles. Ambassador Asima Rabbani congratulated the company on the achievement.
Marcos asks for local parts
Marcos called the plant "an important step in our journey to strengthen our country's manufacturing sector" and said Sazgar had "placed its confidence in our country" by choosing it as its first home outside Pakistan. "That is the kind of investment that we want", he said, and he praised companies that make things with Filipinos rather than only selling to them.
He named batteries, glass, seat foam, upholstery, rubber and lubricants as parts Philippine suppliers could provide. Marcos also noted that Sazgar "has been building vehicles in Pakistan for over three decades".
Marcos said the company expects to produce all of its parts in the Philippines within about a year, and pledged government support for that goal.
From Lahore to Laguna
Sazgar was founded in Pakistan in 1991 as a private limited company and became a public company in 1994. Its website says it exports three wheelers and parts to more than 20 countries, among them Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka and Nigeria. In September 2025 the company announced plans to enter new export markets, naming the Philippines, Mexico and Afghanistan, to diversify its revenue.
