Support the Local Auto Industry

[tidus1203]

Good for them but they are small fry... But can you force the giants like Toyota to completely make their cars CKD and get out of Thailand completely and make RP their SEA base?? NO! Cause Thailand is a better place to do business! Lower wages, lower electricity!

[jpdm]

Good for them but they are small fry... But can you force the giants like Toyota to completely make their cars CKD and get out of Thailand completely and make RP their SEA base?? NO! Cause Thailand is a better place to do business! Lower wages, lower electricity!

Relax...


Who said that Toyota should be forced to completely make their CKD cars here and get out of Thailand completely and make RP their SEA base?

Not me.

Im referring only to those Chinese car companies who want to put assembly plants here.

Definitely nothing about Toyota.

[April Boy]

Well, Im also hoping for local CKDs because it will mean reduce prices of vehicles sold in the Philippines...

..Type na type ko pa naman ang Space Gear...

[ghosthunter]

Well, Im also hoping for local CKDs because it will mean reduce prices of vehicles sold in the Philippines...

..Type na type ko pa naman ang Space Gear...

It might reduce the prices of vehicles sold in the Philippines or just increase the "discount" rate for them.

But one thing for sure, it will surely reduce the number of choices the Filipinos would have in buying their preferred cars.

One major advantage of importing complete cars (instead of assembling them locally) is the greater variety of choice of trim levels for each car model

[April Boy]

It might reduce the prices of vehicles sold in the Philippines or just increase the "discount" rate for them.

But one thing for sure, it will surely reduce the number of choices the Filipinos would have in buying their preferred cars.

One major advantage of importing complete cars (instead of assembling them locally) is the greater variety of choice of trim levels for each car model

Not really sir.

Because increasing the number of CKDs in the Philippines does not mean reduce numbers of imported CBUs and reduce number of choices.

The importers can still bring in more CBUs.

It will be a choice then between buying more expensive CBUs like my fave Space Gear (hay...) and a cheaper CKD like the Mit.Adventure.

[ghosthunter]

It will be a choice then between buying more expensive CBUs like my fave Space Gear (hay...) and a cheaper CKD like the Mit.Adventure.

So it's a choice of being an industry advocate or being a hypocrite?

[April Boy]

So it's a choice of being an industry advocate or being a hypocrite?

hypocrite, me?No way.Industry advocate? I like it.

And, to put you back to the topic, its still a choice between an expensive CBU and a cheaper CKD.

Get my point sir?

Want me to repeat?

my opinion only.

[April Boy]

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/i...2010/august/16

Govt, auto makers eye revival, export of AUVs

by Julito G. Rada
Manila Standard
August 16, 2010

The government and local car companies are looking at the possibility of reviving the Tamaraw, Fiera and Harabas vehicles as part of efforts to strengthen the parts and components industry in the country.
Trade Undersecretary and Board of Investments managing head Cristino Panlilio said over the weekend that the revival of the Asian Utility Vehicles, or AUVs, could develop potential export markets such as Papua New Guinea, East Timor, Vietnam, Indonesia and the African continent.
The Toyota Tamaraw, Ford Fiera and General Motors’ Harabas became popular in the 70’s and ‘80s in the local market.
“The local parts industry has dwindled because the number of locally-made vehicles shrunk, worsened by smuggling of vehicles from other countries,” Panlilio said.
Recent data from Philippine Automotive Competitive Council Inc. showed that just 49 percent of the vehicles sold in the country last year were locally assembled compared with 90 percent in 1996.
The decline in sales of locally-assembled vehicles reduced the industry capacity utilization to about a quarter of the combined 250,000-unit installed capacity of assemblers. This has resulted in job losses to about 70,000 in the last 10 years.
Panlilio said at the sidelines of a meeting last week with the car industry that the proposal to draw up another executive order for the motor vehicle development program received a favorable feedback.
“We are working with them [industry players] to develop another EO [granting additional incentives to car makers that will increase their production and eventually export]. The creation of MVDP 2 had a favorable reaction,” he said.
He earlier said the Board of Investments had been studying how to improve the export volume and the additional incentives to lure car companies to ship out their products.

[tidus1203]

Here is something that might agitate jpdm

THE FUTURE of the manufacturing operations of Ford Group Philippines, the country’s only car exporter, is on shaky ground, as neighbors such as Thailand continue to aggressively provide more perks to vehicle assemblers and exporters than the Philippines.


FGP president Randy Krieger told reporters that the firm’s Sta. Rosa, Laguna, factory was now running at a robust capacity, churning out a combined 15,000 units of the Focus, Escape, and Mazda 3. Of the total, 10,000 units went to the export market.


By 2012, however, the production of the Focus, FGP’s best-selling model in the Philippines, would be transferred to Thailand, he said.

http://business.inquirer.net/money/t...emed-uncertain

[JackFlash]

And here's a damper on those looking for the good old days of the Fiera, Tamaraw and Harabas: Ford won't revive the Fiera. http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx...bCategoryId=66

[SIZE=2]Ford won't revive Fiera [/SIZE]
[SIZE=2]By Ma. Elisa P. Osorio[/SIZE][SIZE=2] (The Philippine Star) Updated August 18, 2010 12:00 AM[/SIZE]
MANILA, Philippines - Ford Group Philippines (FGP) said they will not be reviving the Fiera because it is not part of their business plan to re-launch antiquated models.
The reaction was made in light of the statement made by the Board of Investments (BOI) urging local automobile manufacturers to reissue the Fiera, Harabas and the Tamaraw models for possible export.
“Here in the Philippines we introduce world class products. We do not want to introduce products from 12 years ago,” FGP president Randy Krieger told reporters during the launch of the Ford Fiesta Monday night.
Krieger said that if there is a demand for that type of vehicle in other countries then they will study the matter.
Ford is the only auto manufacturer that exports completely built up (CBU) units to other countries. “Export incentives are very helpful for us,” Krieger said.
“There is a need to make a new export plan,” Krieger said. The BOI has been proposing the creation of the Motor Vehicle Development Plan II (MVDPII) which is specifically for exporters.
FGP produces Focus, Escape and the Mazda III. The local production this year will be 40 percent higher than last year’s.
“We’ve hired additional workers and maximum over time. We are running at full capacity,” Krieger said. Production is at 15,000 units, 10,000 of which are for exports.

I agree that car companies should not re-introduce antiquated models. The Fiera's been phased out, the Tamaraw evolved into the FX, then the Revo until replaced by the Innova. As for the Harabas, I can't even remember which car co. made this, if it still exists at all. If these nameplates were made under the defunct Progressive Car Manufacturing Program of the Philippines, then the companies that made them are just living up to the name. They have progressed from the old utility boxes to more stylish, more advanced models than their predecessors.