Four car makers eyeing Philippines for manufacturing
The Philippine’s robust economic growth and an expanding market for cars have triggered interest from four auto companies looking to put up manufacturing plants in the Philippines, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on March 20, InterAksyon reported.
During a retailers event, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said the four companies are keen on setting up vehicle or parts assembly operations in the country, but stopped short of naming them.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed that they will come this year,” Domingo told reporters, adding that “the domestic market is getting bigger and bigger so that would be a big opportunity for them. The biggest incentive is to have a big domestic market as a base.”
Vehicle sales reached 210,000 units last year, and hit a 10-year high in the first month of this year. While demand slipped among its Asean neighbors, Philippine domestic sales of vehicles sustained its double-digit growth last January. For the entire 2014, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI) forecast sales hitting 230,000 units this year.
Local assemblers had been egging on the government to come up with a new incentives scheme to encourage an expansion of domestic manufacturing of vehicles and parts, but the DTI insists that providing tax perks would be incumbent upon the industry showing that they can kick start exports.
The Philippine dream of becoming another Detroit in Asia was dashed after Ford Motors shut down its local assembly operations. Ford was the only participant in the government’s Auto Export Programme, but the absence of scale economies forced the American carmaker to wind down its domestic manufacturing plant.
To date, the government has yet to release a road map that would spell out the state’s support for the auto industry. It remains to be seen whether DTI would reconsider its earlier stance given a revival of local manufacturing.
The Philippine's robust economic growth and an expanding market for cars have triggered interest from four auto companies looking to put up manufacturing plants in the Philippines, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on March 20, InterAksyon reported. During a retailers event, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said the four companies are keen on setting up vehicle or parts assembly operations in the country, but stopped short of naming them. "We are keeping our fingers crossed that they will come this year," Domingo told reporters, adding that "the domestic market is getting bigger and bigger so that would be...
The Philippine’s robust economic growth and an expanding market for cars have triggered interest from four auto companies looking to put up manufacturing plants in the Philippines, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said on March 20, InterAksyon reported.
During a retailers event, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said the four companies are keen on setting up vehicle or parts assembly operations in the country, but stopped short of naming them.
“We are keeping our fingers crossed that they will come this year,” Domingo told reporters, adding that “the domestic market is getting bigger and bigger so that would be a big opportunity for them. The biggest incentive is to have a big domestic market as a base.”
Vehicle sales reached 210,000 units last year, and hit a 10-year high in the first month of this year. While demand slipped among its Asean neighbors, Philippine domestic sales of vehicles sustained its double-digit growth last January. For the entire 2014, the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (CAMPI) forecast sales hitting 230,000 units this year.
Local assemblers had been egging on the government to come up with a new incentives scheme to encourage an expansion of domestic manufacturing of vehicles and parts, but the DTI insists that providing tax perks would be incumbent upon the industry showing that they can kick start exports.
The Philippine dream of becoming another Detroit in Asia was dashed after Ford Motors shut down its local assembly operations. Ford was the only participant in the government’s Auto Export Programme, but the absence of scale economies forced the American carmaker to wind down its domestic manufacturing plant.
To date, the government has yet to release a road map that would spell out the state’s support for the auto industry. It remains to be seen whether DTI would reconsider its earlier stance given a revival of local manufacturing.
