Milestone Achievement for Mitsubishi Motors Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - May 5, 1964 marked a significant milestone in the Philippine automotive history as Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation or MMPC (then known as Chrysler Philippines) commenced the local production of models such as the Dodge Colt, Minica, Lancer and Cimarron. Since then, Mitsubishi has become a brand synonymous with quality and excellence. It comes as no surprise that MMPC marked their 500,000th unit of cumulative production with the recommencement of passenger car production at its sprawling Cainta plant after seven years of absence.

Though production and assembly at its 75,786 square-meter facility hasn’t stopped, MMPC concentrated its efforts on the assembly of commercial vehicles such as the Adventure and L300; and light-duty trucks like the Fuzo. However, as a part of its global strategy, Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) invested P200 million to modernize and fully equip MMPC to assemble the award-winning Lancer EX compact sedan. In order to do so, improvements were made to MMPC’s facilities in the areas of new jigs & fixtures, new welding lines featuring spot-welding robots and all-new trim and final conveyor lines containing a new ECU coding system. All of these changes and improvements were made to make sure the locally-assembled Lancer EX meets the exacting global standards of MMC.

MMPC stopped passenger car production in 2002 after they found it more economically viable to import completely built-up units (CBU) after the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) took effect. However, the sales promise of the Lancer EX prompted MMPC to restart passenger car production locally. The move is expected to make the Lancer EX’s pricing less susceptible to foreign currency fluctuations and more competitive against its chief rivals. According to MMPC, indicative pricing for the locally-assembled Lancer EX will range between P875,000 to P1,100,000, which is a 10-15 percent drop from its current prices. The move is also expected to boost the Lancer EX’s sales to around 24,000 units annually.

Assembling the Lancer EX locally is just the first step in strengthening MMPC as an integral part of Mitsubishi Motor’s global operations. Passenger car assembly requires higher standards and lower tolerances than that of commercial vehicles; thus MMPC’s improvements to its facilities will not only improve local assembly as a whole, but will prepare MMPC to potentially export cars as well. MMPC hopes to position itself as a secondary auto regional hub, assembling and exporting passenger cars; similar to how Mitsubishi Thailand assembles and exports the Strada pick-up and Montero Sport SUV. MMPC is confident in its position to commence the local assembly of the Lancer EX despite the looming reduction of AFTA rates for imported vehicles to zero percent and the implementation of the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement or JPEPA.

Commemorating the recommencement of MMPC’s passenger car production as well as the 500,000 unit milestone, MMC President Osamu Masuko was in the country last week to partake in the celebrations. Says Mr. Masuko, “Mitsubishi Motors Philippines has been resilient and has persisted with uninterrupted manufacturing and marketing activities through periods of difficulty including the economic crisis of the early 1980s. Through periods of recovery and growth, MMPC has expanded and has been aggressively pioneering advancements in the different manufacturing processes.”

However, MMPC’s achievement is not without serious challenges. MMPC can easily reach the 600,000 production mark in just five years, but government support through economic and political stability is vital. According to Mr. Masuko, the government must implement the proposed Motor Vehicle Development Plan or MVDP and put an end to the importation of used cars. He added that the more new cars are sold here, the more companies like Mitsubishi will consider assembling locally, resulting in more affordable cars. He also reiterated that the government must also provide incentives for both car manufacturers and car parts makers, specifically those engaged in local production and assembly; a timely statement given that the national elections next year can pave the way to change in both governance and policies.

Though the elections are still five months away, and no one knows what will happen by then; MMPC has given its solid backing of Philippine operations, giving some glimpse of what to expect in 2010 and beyond. Of course, the first is the locally assembled Lancer EX with its revised Evolution X-style nose and black-out tail lamps. According to a product literature provided by MMPC, this will be followed by the all-wheel drive, turbocharged 240-horsepower Lancer EX Ralliart. MMPC President Masahiko Ueki also confirmed the arrival of the Outlander-based RVR crossover in late 2010. A diesel version of the Fuzion MPV and a new global small car is also being considered.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines’s positive attitude towards the Philippine automotive market as well as its new and improvement manufacturing facility will undoubtedly mean they can indeed reach their 600,000 production milestone in five years. Their commitment to provide the best in the car ownership experience has awarded them not only the J.D. Power Asia Pacific Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) and Customer Service Index (CSI), but also a place in Philippine culture as well. After all, no other car manufacturer has its cars colorfully nicknamed like “itlog”, “pizza pie” and “pating” than Mitsubishi.