Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) is open to having its Xpander MPV assembled locally, but only if it will be granted an extension of its privileges under the CARS (Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy) program.
MMPC can make local production of the Xpander a reality on one condition
This was according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), even as the agency is courting MMPC to consider local production of the model which sold 13,090 units in 2022. The automaker earlier said that it plans to start domestic production of a new yet undisclosed model to comply with its volume commitment stipulated by CARS.
“We’re really hoping because the Xpander is very popular, we’re hoping that they will make the next generation Xpander here,” said DTI Special Trade Representative Dita Angara-Mathay in an online interview with reporters, mentioning that Mitsubishi plans to expand its production operations in the Philippines.
However, she adds that MMPC’s expansion plan will depend on whether the government will grant its request to extend CARS by two to three years.
Over 13,000 units of the MPV were sold to customers in 2022
“It’s important that we get a firm response on the extension of the CARS program because, as you know…it is time-bound, performance-bound. We have to meet a certain volume of units before you get any subsidy,” Angara-Mathay noted.
Both the Xpander and its Xpander Cross derivative are currently produced in Indonesia for local and export markets.
MMPC and Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) participated in the CARS program when it was signed into law through Executive Order 182 in 2015 by then President Benigno Aquino III. The two automakers were required to produce 200,000 units of their respective enrolled models over the next six years, in exchange for government fiscal support.
Mitsubishi originally enrolled the Mirage series under the CARS program
MMPC’s entry was the Mirage in subcompact hatchback and sedan guises, commencing local production in February 2017 and yielding 72,923 units as of December 2022, according to data from the Board of Investments (BOI). TMP began local assembly of the Vios subcompact sedan in July 2018, totaling 134,242 units produced. The COVID-19 pandemic was considered one of the reasons why production quotas were not met.
Following the end of the CARS program in 2021, the DTI said that the Inter-Agency Committee (IAC) on Automotive Industry Development was working on an executive order for the proposed extension. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s was said to be studying the proposal during his visit to Japan.
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