Focus on the local automotive industry

I will be away for a couple of weeks for my annual sabbatical leave. My commentaries on issues of the day will resume on the 3rd of June. My television programs on IBC-TV 13, in the meantime, continue with their airings. Please watch them.

Threatened Viability

Numerous issues and concerns threaten the viability of existing car companies doing business in the country. These concerns include the increasing importation of used vehicles, tariff levels, and tax issues, among others.

Car companies with substantial investments in the local automotive industry are particularly concerned about the relative ease by which used vehicles either enter the country as legal importations or are merely smuggled in. Records show an increasing percentage share of these types of vehicles in the total new vehicle registrations. According to car companies, the viability of their operation is threatened and hundreds of jobs are at risk of being lost.

Did the change in the excise tax computation help the local automotive industry? Will the government’s move to increase the taxes for imported used vehicles as a counter to the court’s recent ruling that has legalized importation of used vehicles effectively address the negative impact of used car importations on the local auto industry? Is the local labor situation negatively affecting the development of the auto industry? How is Isuzu coping with these difficulties in the industry? What are the investment opportunities being looked at by Isuzu?

Join us in "BREAKING BARRIERS" on Wednesday, 1st June 2005, IBC-TV13 (11 p.m.), and gain insights into the views of Yoshifumi Komura, president and chief executive officer, Isuzu, Philippines, on various issues related to the automotive industry both locally and within the region and how Isuzu is responding. Watch it.

Should you wish to share any insights, write me at Link Edge, 4th Floor, 156 Valero Street, Salcedo Village, 1227 Makati City. Or e-mail me at [email protected]. If you wish to view the previous columns, you may visit my website at http://bizlinks.linkedge.biz.