Toyota Motor Philippines is here to stay despite delay in industry road map

Despite the delays hounding the automotive industry roadmap, Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. is here to stay and plans to sink in P2 billion more to expand the capacity of manufacturing facility in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

 

The P2-billion investment will be spent on upgrading the facilities for the Innova model, Toyota Motor Philippines vice president for corporate affairs Rommel Gutierrez told GMA News Online on Friday.

 

"The P2-billion investment in the Sta. Rosa plant is a vote of confidence in the country's automotive industry," he said.

 

However, the delay in the industry roadmap is a concern for car manufacturers in the country, said Gutierrez, who is also president of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI).

 

"The decision of the mother companies of Japanese carmakers is dependent on a clear direction, so they're banking on the roadmap," he said.

 

While the Philippines is being compared to other countries which also provide investors with incentives, Gutierrez said automotive makers are not about to just pack things up and go. 

 

"We are not pulling out. We are just saying the roadmap is delayed and that there are other countries that also have incentives," he said.

 

Top Japanese automakers in the Philippines, like Toyota and Mitsubishi, are threatening to shift production to cheaper Southeast Asian countries as government has yet to come up with new policies for the automotive industry, Reuters reported.

 

Even without the road map, Japanese carmakers are here to stay but the industry policy is necessary for them to ramp up production, Gutierrez said. – VS, GMA News