Mitsubishi Motors Corp.'s (MMC) has pledged to invest around P7 billion in the Philippines in the next five years.
The investment commitment was discussed when MMC President and CEO Takao Kato made a courtesy call on President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Thursday, according to the PCO news release.
Marcos welcomed the MMC’s plan as this will create more jobs for Filipinos.
"The jobs that it will provide, that your investment will provide, are very important to us and certainly, vehicle manufacture is one of those," Marcos told Kato.
During the meeting, Kato discussed the MMC’s expansion plan in the Philippines, including adding a new production model at its Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) plant facility in Laguna.
Marcos said the MMC would be included in the government's Revitalizing the Automotive Industry for Competitiveness Enhancement (RACE) Program, a new proposed version of the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Program.
He hoped MMC's inclusion would help in its expansion plan.
Kato said the Philippines is MMC's most important investment in Southeast Asia, citing its good and stable economy.
"In the ASEAN, (the) Philippines is our number one market," Kato said.
In a Facebook post, Marcos said the MMC is a “strong partner” in the Philippines’ journey to strengthen the automotive industry and empower Filipino workers.
“Mr. Takao Kato and I share the same goals of driving innovation, creating more jobs and making sustainable transportation a reality for Filipinos,” he said.
MMC is a multinational automobile manufacturer founded in April 1970, maintaining production facilities in Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Russia, and the Philippines.
MMPC, on the other hand, is a 100-percent wholly owned subsidiary of MMC, which began operations as Chrysler Philippines Corp. in 1963 as the assembler and distributor of Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth passenger cars.
MMPC has a manufacturing plant located in Santa Rosa, Laguna, with 50,000 units of annual production capacity. It has the potential to expand to 100,000 units per year.
As of November 2024, the motor vehicle industry sold 425,208 units, with MMPC cornering 19 percent of the domestic market but second only to Toyota with 46 percent.
PBBM PHOTO
