What could it be? Mitsubishi eyeing new Philippine model assembly line for CARS Program -- report

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is looking into putting up a new model assembly line in the Philippines, depending on government incentives.

“They want to get into, probably, a new model assembly that they have not disclosed yet,” said Senior Trade Representative Dita Angara-Mathay in a February 17, 2023 report in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“So, that’s really contingent on our CARS Program,” she added. 

Angara-Mathay was referring to the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Program, which was created in 2015 under Executive Order 182 of the late former President Benigno Aquino III.

Meanwhile, Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) told AutoFun Philippines that it does not have any information yet about the proposal.

₱9B for local carmakers

The CARS Program aims to revitalize the local car industry by providing ₱9 billion in government subsidies to each qualified manufacturer over six years. 

Each carmaker must produce at least 200,000 units each in that period, with the majority of parts also produced locally, all for domestic sale.

MMPC, which is the country’s second-largest local car manufacturer in terms of sales, builds the Mirage hatchback and Mirage G4 sedan at its Sta. Rosa plant under the scheme.

Toyota Motor Philippines is also part of the program with the popular Toyota Vios subcompact sedan.

However, carmakers are pushing to extend the program in light of production delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, along with reduced demand for cars because of higher excise taxes under the government’s tax-reform law.

Angara-Mathay said as of December 2022, Toyota has only produced 134,242 Vios units, while Mitsubishi has built 72,923 Mirage units.

What new Mitsubishi is in store?

Although MMPC has no official word about what model it could manufacture in the proposed assembly line, AutoFun Philippines thinks one possible candidate is the Mitsubishi Xpander multi-purpose vehicle (MPV).

The Xpander and its Xpander Cross sibling are among the best-selling seven-seater MPVs in the Philippines. MMPC sold a total of 16,309 units of both models in 2022.  It is currently imported as a completely built unit from Mitsubishi’s Indonesian plant.

But it remains to be seen if Mitsubishi Indonesia would be willing to give up its production volume and if MMPC will spend for the retooling of the assembly line to accommodate an aging model.

Looking forward to the future

Another candidate could be the production version of the Mitsubishi XFC Concept crossover concept, or its derivative, that was unveiled in Vietnam on October 2022.

Touted as a replacement for the Mitsubishi ASX, the production version of the XFC Concept is expected to go on sale in ASEAN markets as early as April 2023, with plans to make it available in global markets.

"In the future, we plan to add an electrified variant to the lineup and to also roll it out in regions outside ASEAN," said Mitsubishi Motors president and CEO Takao Kato in a speech at the concept’s launch.

"We hope to grow the model from a vehicle for the ASEAN market to a global strategic vehicle, making it a core model like the sales-leading Xpander crossover MPV," he added.

Given Mitsubishi Motors’ big ambitions for the XFC Concept, MMPC could help with meeting global demand while fulfilling its commitments to the CARS Program.

What new model do you think Mitsubishi Philippines should manufacture locally?

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