Mitsubishi Motors to manufacture Mirage model in PHL

 

Japanese automaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will invest some P4.3 billion in the Philippines to start the local production of the hatchback and sedan variants of the Mirage starting early next year, the company announced Wednesday.

 

"We will immediately file an application to the CARS (Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy) Program and when it is accepted, we are planning to start the production of hatchback and sedan of the Mirage from early 2017," Mitsubishi Motors Corp. chief executive officer Osamu Masuko said in a press conference in Pasay City.

 

According to Masuko, he already expressed this to the President when they met last Wednesday. He did not elaborate on the talks.

 

Under the CARS Program, Mitsubishi will utilize its Santa Rosa (Laguna) plant where a new stamping facility would be put up.

 

The CARS Program, approved by President Benigno Aquino III last year, dictates that car manufacturers produce at least 200,000 units to avail of monetary incentives from the government.

 

"For 2017, the conservative target is 30,000 (vehicles). Apparently, we can go more as demand has grown 20 percent," Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) Vice President Froilan Dytianquin said at the sidelines of the briefing.

 

According to Dytianquin, some 17,000 Mirage units, which are currently manufactured in Thailand, were sold in the Philippines last year. 

 

This development will also more than double employment of the company within the next six years, Dytianquin said.

 

"This will double employment by 2017... 4,000 employment for the whole six years," Dytianquin said.

 

In the briefing, Masuko was accompanied by top managers of 20 Japanese companies which supply vehicle parts.

 

"The parts suppliers who are here today are aiming to contribute to the development of the automotive industry of the Philippines just like us by business expansion in different ways such as construction of new plants, expansion of existing production base, and providing technology to local corporations," he said.

 

"Looking at the business climate, Masuko invited them here to look get a feel of the local automotive industry," Dytianquin said.

 

With prospective investors and an expected increase in output, MMPC could also export vehicles made in the country.

 

"There's always opportunity to export... Now it's more on domestic," Dytianquin said. — APG, GMA News