Phl woos Volkswagen for reg’l mfg hub

MANILA, Philippines - The government is making a pitch to German automotive brand Volkswagen to consider the Philippines as a location for a manufacturing facility in the region.

Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo told reporters the government has been in discussions with Volkswagen officials as the firm is interested in setting up a manufacturing facility in the region.

 “It is still premature because they are still looking at different countries in Asia,” he said.

Domingo said the government is hopeful though that discussions with the automotive firm’s officials would continue.

Volkswagen currently operates 106 production plants in 19 European countries and a further eight countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa, while it sells its vehicles in 153 countries.

Every weekday, Volkswagen’s 572,800 employees worldwide produce some 39,350 vehicles, and work in vehicle-related services or other fields of business.

In the Philippines, Volkswagen vehicles are distributed by Automobile Central Enterprise Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ayala Corp.

The government wants to attract more investments in the manufacturing sector to create more jobs and make the country’s economic growth more inclusive.

As the government wants to position the country as a manufacturing hub for vehicles, it is crafting a roadmap for the automotive industry.

Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said earlier the government is mulling investments amounting to around $600 million for fiscal and non-fiscal support for the automotive industry.

The investment would be sourced from the government’s regular budget.

While the government wants to support the automotive industry, Domingo said earlier the program would only cover a limited number of firms, particularly those able to meet certain production level requirements, assemble for export and share the ambition of making the Philippines a manufacturing hub.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) which groups local vehicle assemblers, said earlier it is hopeful the roadmap would be released this year as such would be needed to make investment plans.

The CAMPI has been pushing for government support to be able to close the gap between a locally-assembled vehicle and an imported unit which amounts to $2,000.