Mitsubishi wants to locally assemble Montero model

BANGKOK, Thailand — Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) has sought permission from its Japan-based parent from Mitsubishi Moors Corp. (MMC) for the right to assemble the Montero Sport model in the Philippines to maximize the utilization rate of its production facility in Cainta, Rizal.

“Up to now, it is not yet fully-formed but we are applying for a volume model that we can produce in the Philippines,” said Mitsubishi Philippines vice president for marketing services Froilan Dytianquin.

The manufacturing facility of MMPC in Cainta, Rizal is capable of producing 40,000 to 60,000 units annually but is only producing around 14,000 units per year. Assembled in the plant are the Adventure, L300, and Lancer EX.

“The Adventure and L300 have been there for quite some time and we still do not have the succession models for these. The Lancer is practically a new model but unfortunately, the C segment is not so big,” Dytianquin said.

“The reason also why we are applying for this is that Thailand is saving the capacity so we are also raising our hands to consider the Philippines for the assembly of the Montero Sport. We have the capacity for it. But this will, of course, entail more feasibility study on the part of MMC,” he said.

For now, all Montero Sport models sold in the Philippines come from Thailand.

MMPC currently sells around 1,000 units of the Montero Sport every month, accounting for roughly a third of its average monthly sales.

Dytianquin said that right now, there is still no definite time period by which MMC will allow the assembly of the Montero Sport in the Philippines.

“Probably it will come when the new successor of the Montero arrives,” he said.

The successor model of the Montero Sport is not likely to be launched this year because the newest model was launched only in 2008. The Montero Sport is one of strong-selling midsize sport-utility vehicles in the Philippines today. Its strong competitor in the market is the Toyota Fortuner.

Mitsubishi Philippines is keeping its target of achieving a market share of 20 percent this year to maintain its standing as the second biggest automotive player in the country.

The company targets sales of 38,000 units this year against around 32,000 last year.

Dytianquin said the company could have sold more if it were not for the supply chain problems caused by the widespread flooding in Thailand late last year.

To raise sales this year, MMPC is banking on the entry of other models and variants that will be released, one of which is the subcompact hatchback Mirage which will be introduced to the Philippines in November.

The Mirage will compete with other models in the A segment such as the Hyundai Eon and i10, Chevrolet Spark, Suzuki Celerio and Alto.

Worldwide, the Mirage would be pitted against Nissan March, Honda Brio and Suzuki Swift.

MMC is “challenging” MMPC to sell around 500 units a month.

“It’s still a tough challenge because it means you will have to cannibalize the others,” said Dytianquin in jest.

The Mirage is sold in Thailand for 390,000 baht. For the Philippines, a selling price of P600, 000 is being considered.

MMC is stepping up its production in Thailand for both domestic consumption and export to Asia and ASEAN countries.

The new plant in the city of Laemchabang, in the province of Chonburi, which assembles the Mirage, has a total production capacity of 390,000 units per year. The state-of-the art production facility consists of three factories: two for passenger cars and with a combined production capacity of 205,000 units annually and one for the truck line which has a production capacity of 185,000 units.

The plant, which operates seven days a week, has a workforce of 6,400 employees.

Assembled in the plant are the Pajero Sport, Montero Sport, Titon, L200, the Lancer line, and the Mirage.

The target production for the Mirage this year is 105,000 units this year, 35,000 of which or 34 percent would be sold in Thailand while 70,000 or 66 percent would be for export.

Masahiko Ueki, executive officer and corporate general manager of MMC Asia and ASEAN Offices, said Mitsubishi car sales in the regions reached over 200,000 units in 2011, up by 23 percent from 2010.