Mitsubishi to start exporting PHL-made vehicles by 2019

MITSUBISHI Motors Corporation (MMC) has committed to exporting Philippine-made vehicles to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market next year, according to Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez.

During a meeting with MMC Chief Executive Officer Osamu Masuko, Mr. Lopez said he requested the company to begin producing vehicles that can be exported “in order to tap a larger market for the country’s manufacturing base and help address the Philippines’ trade deficit, especially with two ASEAN vehicle exporters — Indonesia and Thailand.”

“The intention is to produce specific models that will be exported to our neighbors in ASEAN. The good thing here is, as MMC is already present in other ASEAN countries like Thailand and Indonesia, they are planning to make certain countries as production hub for certain models, which will serve their respective domestic and export markets,” Mr. Lopez was quoted as saying in a statement.

The DTI statement also quoted Mr. Masuko as saying MMC plans to manufacture more units of Mirage, Mirage G4 and L300 in the country and start exporting them to ASEAN next year.

Mr. Masuko also broached the possibility of working with the Philippine government to develop the local electric vehicle industry.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) locally produces the compact passenger vehicles Mirage and Mirage G4 under the government’s Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program.

The CARS program grants P27 billion worth of incentives to three auto companies to boost domestic vehicle production to 700,000 units during the six-year period up to 2022. As of now, only MMPC and Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. are part of the program.