Japanese used car

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMPC) and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) have expressed optimism over the prospects of the domestic automotive industry this year as long as the government steps up efforts to curb the importation of used vehicles into the country.

TMPC president Nobuharu Tabata told reporters that the company is optimistic that sales would go up 5 percent to about 30,660 units this year from 29,198 units as it strives hard to achieve a triple crown for the fourth straight year this year.

Last year, TMPC dominated the industry, as well as the passenger and commercial vehicle segments with a 33.19-percent market share.

The firm sold 29,198 units last year or about 5 percent more than the 27,821 units sold in 2003.

However, he pointed out that the Philippine government must step up efforts to take a strong action against used car imports. The Philippines was the only country whose size of the domestic auto market fell 4.6 percent to 88,003 units last year from 92,248 units the previous year.

He cited the case of Thailand that sold 592,000 units last year, as well as Singapore that has less population but sold more motor vehicles than the Philippines.

“We have been asking the government to take a strong stand against used car imports. We are also asking the Japanese government to check whether or not these used vehicles comply with the Philippine regulations on safety before shipping used vehicles to the Philippines,” Tabata said.

He said about 30,000 units of used motor vehicles were shipped to the Philippines from Japan.

“There is no future for us here if we cannot stop used car imports. We are asking the government to take a strong action to stop importation of used vehicles,” Tabata said.

Another cause of concern, according to him, is the share of the brand-new imported vehicles in the domestic market.

Of the total units sold last year, only about 60 percent were assembled in the Philippines while the rest were sold from various countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

“We have to protect employment,” he added.

MMPC senior vice president Melchor Dizon said the company is projecting a more robust growth of 30 percent to at least 17,000 units this year from 12,717 units last year with the launching of new models.

Dizon explained that the company is projecting a better year this year after it lost at least 20 percent of their sales last year due to the phase in and phase out of the new and old Adventure, as well as the car parts problem.

This year, the company sees a 10-percent increase from the phase in and phase out of new models, 10 percent from the expansion of the market, and 10 percent from the increase in market share.

MMPC retained the second spot last year despite the 17.53-percent drop in sales to 12,717 units from 15,421 units in 2003.

It got a market share of 14.45 percent last year. Last week, the company launched the 2005 Mitsubishi Montero and the Grandis.

Both the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association expects the size of the local auto industry to expand by at least 8 percent this year from a decline of 4.68 percent last year.

By LAWRENCE AGCAOILI
TODAY Reporter
This article was originally published by

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