Toyota Autoparts’ export earnings up 17% to $450M

Export earnings of Toyota Autoparts Philippines Inc. (TAPI) rose by 17 percent to $450 million in 2005 from $384 million in 2004, outgoing Toyota Motors Philippines Corp. (TMPC) president Nobuharu Tabata reported yesterday.

Tabata is returning to Nagoya, Japan and will be succeeded by Hiroshi Ito whose most recent assignment was in New Zealand.

During Toyota’s combination thanksgiving and launch of its 2006 RAV4 Wednesday night, Tabata said that the preliminary export figure of $450 million is due to the success of Toyota’s IMV (Innovative Multi-purpose Vehicle) program.

TAPI supplies Toyota’s global IMV program which includes the Innova, Fortuner and Hilux models.

TMPCI is thus hoping that the government will eventually include autopart exports in the Automotive Export Program.

The AEP currently involves only exports of completely-built up (CBU) units.

TMPI has been appealing to the Board of Investments (BOI) to grant more incentives to autoparts exports or at least similar incentives given to CBU exporters or even to other industry exporters such as the electronics sectors.

Under such a proposal, autoparts makers would enjoy a tax credit based on the exports of the automotive assemblers.

During Wednesday’s event, TMPI launched its 2006 RAV4 which it has initially priced at P1.425 million for the 4X2 automatic model and at P1.785 million for the 4x4 automatic model.

Incoming TMPI president Hiroshi Ito sees a lot of potential to grow the Philippine market especially with a population of over 80 million.

However, just like his predecessor Tabata, Ito warned about the danger of allowing the entry of imported used cars.

Having stayed five years in New Zealand, Ito has first hand experience about the effects of used cars on local automotive assembly.

Toyota, Ito said, previously had assembly operations in New Zealand but eventually decided to discontinue local assembly and instead now relies on importations of completely built-up units.