Under CARS Program MMPC presents 1st locally manufactured Mitsubishi Mirage G4 to Pres. Duterte

MANILA, Philippines - Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) celebrated another big milestone as it presented the first locally manufactured Mitsubishi Mirage G4 to His Excellency President Rodrigo Duterte during a special ceremony held at the Malacanang Palace last Monday.

The presentation was carried out as a symbolic event after MMPC announced the commencement of Mitsubishi’s production of the Mirage G4 in the Philippines.

MMPC revealed at the event that the local production of the Mirage G4 will be carried out in its 21-hectare plant located in Santa Rosa, Laguna. This makes the Mirage G4 the very first vehicle to be manufactured in the Philippines under the country’s Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy (CARS) Program.

Present during the ceremony were Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) President and CEO, Osamu Masuko; Sojitz Corporation Vice Chairman Shigeki Dantani; MMPC President and CEO Yoshiaki Kato; diplomats and executives.

In attendance from the government sector were honorable Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea; DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez; Department of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III; DTI Undersecretary Ceferino Rodolfo; DTI Assistant Secretary Rafaelita Aldaba; Philippine Economic Zone Authority Director General Charito Plaza; CARS Program Director Romulo Manlapig; and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Japan Embassy Atsushi Ueno.

Among the obvious benefits the country may enjoy from this upcoming surge in local car manufacturing are the numerous, additional job opportunities for Filipinos and a significant increase of opportunities for local parts suppliers.

Among the not-so-obvious benefits our countrymen may enjoy are the opportunities for technology transfer from Mitsubishi’s foreign partners for the overall improvement of manufacturing operations, efficiency and quality.

The official start of MMPC’s mass production of the Mirage G4 and hatchback at the Santa Rosa plant will be in May this year. The company aims to manufacture 20,000 units by the end of 2017; while the new stamping plant is also slated to start operating in January 2018.

Once these all come into motion, MMPC is expected to even further increase local content and boost its local production by 50 percent.

MMPC revealed that it has already invested P4.3 billion in the Philippines for the production facilities and for acquiring the equipment required to pursue its local manufacturing targets.

MMC President and CEO Osamu Masuko expressed strong confidence in the success of their endeavor, as he explained that with the country’s broad base of its automotive industry, the high-quality labor force characteristic of Filipinos, and strong support from the government through its development policy, there is great potential for seamless actualization of their goals alongside economic growth.

The Japanese executives from MMC emphasized time and again that the Philippines is Mitsubishi’s third major pillar, only next to Indonesia and Thailand. And following the business growth pattern they have had in the latter two countries, it is reasonable to expect that the Philippines shall soon too, begin exporting its own Mirage units abroad.

Masuko’s opening speech during the press conference that immediately followed, was especially inspiring as he said “In the 1980’s there were the harsh political challenges... And then in the 1990’s there was the ASEAN currency crisis. But we have never left the Philippines.”

Furthermore, the Japanese executives also touched a little bit on the topic of the future electrification of vehicles in the country – and expressed how they would like to play a strong and active role in helping the Philippines realize its future automotive transformation. - Photos by KJ Rosales