Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors to invest $121 million in the Philippines

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi Motors Corp (MMC) is set to invest Peso (Ps) 7 billion ($121 million) in the Philippines over the next five years.

MMC president and CEO Takao Kato announced the plan during a meeting with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on 6 February.

The plan includes adding a new production model at the Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp (MMPC) plant in Laguna province, according to a statement issued by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

Kato said the Philippines is MMC’s most important investment in southeast Asia, citing its good and stable economy.

MMPC operates a manufacturing plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna, with an annual production capacity of 50,000 units, which can be doubled, it stated.

As of November last year, MMPC had a 19% share of the domestic market, trailing behind Toyota’s 46% share.

Marcos also announced that MMC will be part of the government’s Revitalizing the Automotive Industry for Competitiveness Enhancement (RACE) program which aims to boost the competitiveness of the local automotive industry.

“In the ASEAN, (the) Philippines is our number one market,” MMC’s Kato said.

Within southeast Asia, MMC also has production facilities in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.

The Japanese carmaker also has manufacturing plants in China and Russia.

The automotive industry is a major global consumer of petrochemicals that contributes more than one-third of the raw material costs of an average vehicle.

The sector drives demand for chemicals such as polypropylene (PP), along with nylon, polystyrene (PS), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR), polyurethane (PU), methyl methacrylate (MMA) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).

($1 = Ps58)