Toyota to open P4.5-B Luzon hub
TOYOTA Motor Philippines ( TMP) is set to open its P4.5- billion logistics hub in Luzon next year amid growing sales.
“Our sales volume is expanding more and more. Sooner or later, our capacity will overflow,” TMP President Satoru Suzuki told reporters on the sidelines of an event in Taguig on Monday.
Suzuki said the Japanese auto maker has been planning the establishment of a new hub for two years now.
The TMP chief, however, declined to disclose other details of the logistics hub, including specific location, capacity and land size.
The new hub, which will mainly cater to completely built- up cars, is being financed with a mix of internallygenerated funds and bank borrowings.
Meanwhile, when asked about the possible safeguard imposition on auto imports, Suzuki responded: “We are worried. It is against the free trade situations.”
The Department of Trade and Industry is in the process of reviewing the application for safeguard measures — filed by Philippine Metal Workers Alliance — on auto imports amid surge in inbound shipments.
Data showed the total number of imported brand- new motor vehicles that entered the country between 2014 to 2018 reached more than a million units, in which 428,000 units came from Thailand; 312,000 from Indonesia; and 101,000 units from South Korea.
Earlier, GT Capital Auto Dealership Holdings Inc. Chairman Vicente Jose Socco shared the same sentiment.
Socco said the government should consider the regional bloc’s free trade agreement before imposing additional tariffs.
He said that Toyota, along with other car manufacturers, will be affected should this push through, noting that 15 percent of its imports came from Thailand as of October this year.
At the same event, Suzuki announced that he would be stepping down as TMP’s president effective Dec. 31, 2019, completing his four- year stint.
As of end- October, Toyota has sold 130,520 units, up 5 percent from 124,329 units the previous year. This represents a 43.25- percent market share, taking the lead in the local automotive industry. Sales were driven by the Vios and Innova models.