Honda to cease auto production in PH by March

MANILA: Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. will be halting local production activities in its Sta. Rosa, Laguna plant “effective March 2020.”

In a statement sent to the press, HCPI said: “To meet Honda’s customer needs in the Philippines for reasonably priced and good quality products, Honda considered efficient allocation and distribution of resources. As such, after consideration of optimization efforts in the production operations in Asia and Oceania region, Honda decided to close the manufacturing operations of HCPI.”

 

Sought for a statement as to where HCPI will source the locally produced BR-V SUV and City sedan, an official said the company will issue further updates “ASAP.” Meanwhile, the press release maintained that “HCPI will continue its automobile sales and after-sales service operation in the Philippines, through the utilization of Honda’s Asia and Oceania regional network… Honda will continue providing highly attractive products to its customers in the Philippines and continue contributing to the local society, which has been an ongoing effort for the last 50 years since Honda was established in the Philippines.”

HCPI is expected to now source units from Thailand.

The City and BR-V are Honda’s bestselling products here in the country. Last year, 5,717 City units were sold, followed by 4,003 BR-Vs. Last January, HCPI ranked fourth in vehicle sales after selling 1,769 units – cornering 7.46% of the market among CAMPI (Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc.) member companies. Compared to January last year (with 1,943 units sold), HCPI sales dipped by 9%.

In 2019, HCPI moved 20,338 vehicles (4.96% of total) – good for seventh place among all auto brands here. However, this figure represented a 12.69% slide from 2018 sales.

Around the middle of last year, HCPI had unveiled the mid-cycle refresh of the BR-V. Honda’s entry-level SUV was first launched in 2016 at the 6^th Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS). Since then, around 20,000 units have been sold here.

Meanwhile, local City sales peaked in 2017 with 9,630 units sold. In 2018, the first year of the implementation of the government’s TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion), HCPI sold only 5,683 units of its most popular model.

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