DTI urges Mitsubishi to start producing Xpander in PH

MANILA: The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is urging Mitsubishi Motors Corporation to manufacture the Mitsubishi Xpander in the Philippines.

This is because Mitsubishi pledged to make investments in its production operation in the Philippines during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s recent official working visit to Tokyo, Japan.

Special Trade Representative Dita Angara-Mathay stated that Mitsubishi plans to start producing a new model to achieve their volume pledge under the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) program.

She said that the DTI hopes that Mitsubishi will produce the next-generation Mitsubishi Xpander in the Philippines as it is hugely popular here.

Mitsubishi currently has production operations for the Mitsubishi Xpander in Indonesia.

Angara-Mathay however clarified that the extension of the CARS program is necessary for Mitsubishi's expansion plans. She said that the Japanese automaker is requesting for the CARS program to be extended by two to three years.

Mitsubishi is one of the two automakers taking part in the CARS program for the local production of the Mitsubishi Mirage.

Participating automakers under CARS must sell a minimum of 200,000 units for their enrolled car models in order to qualify for government fiscal incentives.

However, the auto industry was also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, slowing down vehicle sales.

According to Angara-Mathay, Mitsubishi is requesting that the CARS program be extended for an additional two to three years in order to reach its volume targets and make up for its loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A six-year agreement for the CARS program was signed in 2015. At the time it was set to expire in 2021, the DTI said that the Inter-Agency Committee (IAC) on Automotive Industry Development is working on the release of an executive order for the program's extension.

Marcos was analyzing the possible extension of the CARS program last week in Tokyo.

Photos from Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation

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