MANILA – The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is luring Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to assemble its multipurpose vehicle Xpander in the Philippines, according to a trade official.
This, as Mitsubishi committed to infuse investments in its manufacturing operation here during the official working visit of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to Tokyo, Japan last week.
Special Trade Representative Dita Angara-Mathay told trade reporters in an interview early this week that Mitsubishi aims to bring in the production of a new model to meet their volume commitment under the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program.
“We’re really hoping because since the Xpander is very popular, we’re hoping that they will make the next generation Xpander here,” Angara-Mathay said, adding that Mitsubishi has production operations for this model in Indonesia.
However, she said the expansion plan of Mitsubishi is dependent on the extension of the CARS program.
Angara-Mathay said the Japanese car manufacturer is requesting for an extension of the CARS program by around two to three years.
“So that’s really contingent on the extension of our CARS program,” she added. “It’s very important that we get a firm response on the extension of the CARS program.”
Mitsubishi is one of the two participating carmakers under the CARS program for the local assembly of its Mirage model.
Under CARS, participating carmakers have to comply with the minimum volume sales of 200,000 units for their enrolled car models for them to benefit from fiscal incentives from the government.
However, the car industry was also hit by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), slowing down vehicle sales at the onslaught of the pandemic.
That is why Mitsubishi is asking the Philippine government to extend the CARS program for another two to three years for them to meet their volume target and make up for their losses during the Covid-19 pandemic, Angara-Mathay said.
The CARS program is a six-year program signed in 2015.
It expired in 2021, but the DTI then said the Inter-Agency Committee (IAC) on Automotive Industry Development is working on the issuance of an executive order for the program’s extension.
In Tokyo last week, Marcos was studying the proposed extension of the CARS program. (PNA)
