Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) said some conditions may need to be relaxed for the government to attract more participants to the planned Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy (EVIS).
TMP Chairman Alfred Ty said the company is willing to invest in EVIS the same amount it invested in the CARS (Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy) Program, but noted that the program should be more acceptable to both the private sector and the government.
Citing the CARS program, the first tax incentive driven car manufacturing program, Ty said it imposed conditions that were “difficult to comply” with for participants. These included the parts localization requirement and a production volume target over the six-year program. Only TMP and Mitsubishi Motors Philippines participated in the program as car assemblers, along with some parts producers.
He thus called for deeper discussions with the government to ensure economies of scale for participants. “If there is really an advantage, of course, we’re ready to come in,” he said.
TMP invested an PHP5.2 billion for the production of the Vios under the CARS Program. The investment included state-of-the-art plastic injection facilities and the expansion of its press parts facility, among others. The local content of the Vios increased to 42 percent from 32 percent.
Since EVIS is a government initiative, Ty said stakeholders need to sit down and discuss the details, noting that any program must have economies of scale to succeed.
“It’s interesting, basing it on the first program. It’s something we need to see, the volume (production requirement) because we all need to justify to our head office,” he added.
EVIS is an ambitious, incentive-driven government program designed to promote green industrialization by boosting local manufacturing of electric vehicles and developing an EV ecosystem in the country, including automotive parts manufacturing and EV battery production. The program seeks to cover all types of vehicles, including commercial vehicles.
The Board of Investments, which is spearheading the program, is expected to release the EVIS guidelines in the second quarter of this year. The government is preparing an incentive package to qualified participants.
