Automotive industry remains key sector in RP economy - study

MANILA, Philippines - The automotive sector remains one of the country’s key industries, landing in the list of top five industries that has a major impact on the local economy, a study by the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) showed.

In a press conference, Philippine Automotive Competitiveness Council Inc. (PACCI) executive director Benjamin Sevilla said that the study conducted by UA&P Professor Sid Terosa showed that the auto industry was in the top five out of the 240 industries covered by the study.

Sevilla said that this highlights the importance of the automotive industry to the external economy. “The industry has deep backward and forward linkages,” Sevilla said.

Sevilla cleared that the study was not commissioned by PACCI and that it was the initiative of the school to use the data from the National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB) to conduct the analysis. The period covered was year 2000 because it was the latest data available.

Sevilla cleared that although the study uses data from 10 years ago, it is still relevant because the variables remain the same.

Earlier, John Forbes, American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (AmCham) Legislative Committee chairman said that in order to make the Philippines an attractive automobile manufacturing hub, there must be certain policies especially when it concerns the importation of used vehicles.

“There will be no real progress in the industry unless the smuggling of vehicles is eliminated,” Forbes said. There are reports that imported used vehicles are still on sale in the country. “The Philippines can’t have both smuggling and car production.”

“The country has already missed the boat of opportunity in the industry because the government could never get the correct policy,” Forbes stressed.

For instance, he said that exports of locally produced vehicles are very small. He noted that the Philippines exports about 3,000 vehicles while the neighboring countries are able to export so much more.