Japanese auto makers eyeing manufacturing plants in PHL
Category: Top News 25 Jun 2014
Written by Catherine N. Pillas with ANC
President Aquino had good news upon his return from a working visit to Japan. Among them is the interest from Japanese car companies to put up manufacturing plants in the Philippines.
The President said Japan will also conduct a feasibility study on a possible subway system in Metro Manila.
Mr. Aquino said with the robust economic growth that the country is experiencing, it was not surprising that foreign investors are beginning to show more confidence and interest on the Philippines.
He said Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe informed him of the interest of Japanese carmakers to put up manufacturing plants in the country.
The President also thanked Abe for Tokyo’s decision to relax the visa requirements for Filipinos who want to go to Japan.
This, he said, would lead to the opening of more opportunities for Filipino professionals in Japan.
Mr. Aquino also said Abe cheered the Senate’s approval of a bill that allows full foreign ownership of Philippine banks, as Japanese investors would prefer to do business with Japanese-owned banks.
He said with banks from Japan coming in, more Japanese companies would be encouraged to do business in the Philippines. This, he said, is because Japanese firms would find it easier to transact with banks that came from Japan.
Meanwhile, Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) unveiled its latest entry in the subcompact segment on Tuesday evening—the all-new Honda Jazz.
HCPI said the introduction of the new Jazz is buoyed by the expected stable demand in the subcompact segment in the Philippine market.
But despite the introduction of the updated model, HCPI is keeping its 10-percent growth in overall sales from its 2013’s sales tally of 13,356 units.
“The market demand for these subcompact hatchback vehicles is stable. We expect to sell at least 1,000 units of the all-new Honda Jazz this year since we only have six months left in the year,” said Toshio Kuwahara, general manager and president of Honda Philippines.
The all-new Honda Jazz, dubbed as “The One,” is available in four variants: the 1.5 VX+, the 1.5 VX and the 1.5 V, which has manual and automatic transmission options.
The company is also set to introduce the Honda Brio in the third quarter of 2014, Kuwahara said. It is being eyed to “capture a different market” from existing small cars in the local automobile market today. “The sales of smaller cars is doubling, a hundred percent, we have plans to go into this market soon. There have been reservations for the vehicles,” Kuwahara said.
Additionally, Kuwahara said HCPI is also affected by the global recall of 2 million vehicles due to possible flawed airbag system.
“We are still waiting for detailed information on the affected cars but most likely it will be the 2003 Civic, CRV and Accord. We are recommending Honda consumers to consult their Honda dealers to have their vehicles checked, flawed or not,” Kuwahara said.
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